Are all technological advances rosy?
These young people, who are so eagerly targeted by brands, also report high rates of depression, anxiety and loneliness , rates that are on the rise and that many people directly link to the use of social networks . If we add to the pressure that teenagers already suffer on 2.0 platforms the pressure that they will foreseeably also suffer in the metaverse, we could be facing an absolutely explosive cocktail, warns Stephens.
lights of new technologies, slovenia number data it is perhaps worth remembering that back in 2006 Mark Zuckerberg claimed that Facebook was all about connecting people. Zuckerberg forgot to mention at the time that Facebook would also become a poisonous breeding ground for hate, misinformation, cyberbullying and political polarisation. Precisely for this reason, at the end of 2021, the cosmetics firm Lush had no qualms about slamming the door on Facebook, Instagram and other social networks in order to preserve the mental health (potentially eroded on these platforms) of its fans.
If we look at the impact of the metaverse on creativity, many are celebrating that the transition to virtual possessions will result in a democratisation of design. And in this sense, anyone with enough imagination and access to the simplest technology will be able to become a designer. However, it is worth remembering that the democratisation of technology in music has been anything but beneficial for the income of musicians and authors and for the quality of music in general. If we have learned anything from the democratisation that has taken place in the music industry, it is more than evident that more is not synonymous with better. Perhaps because the democratisation of creativity is nothing more than pure commoditisation (dressed up, of course, in a nice costume).