Since the introduction of the “Metaverse” by Mark Zuckerberg, there has been a media explosion of the need to find out more and explore this new world, but as far as I know, the idea and application of the virtual world has been around a lot longer then what is currently being promoted.

During my time as a grad student at the University of Texas Dallas Arts & Technology program, I became interested in the research of human and virtual interaction and how virtual immersion affects human behavior. What I have learned is that it is a totally new experience for the user as it affects the behavior and self-identity when engaged in this new world.

Part of my research is to use the popular platform at the time Second Life to explore their virtual program and I must say that I was impressed. To be able to create your own avatar based on your online self and to practically explore a whole new world that is definitely the next level to the popular social media programs that we all know was pretty exciting.

At the time items and land can be purchased using Second Life’s virtual currency called Linden Dollars. The interesting thing that came out of this is how other people used this virtual space. For some, it was to create and sell virtual real estate while others use it to extend their corporate meetings and even gallery showings.

In my school, my Latin American History teacher, Dr. Monica Rankin, presented the history of the Cuban Revolution within Second Life for her students to engage in role-playing within that part of history.

Dr. Zielke, another professor of mine in Cyberpsychology, believed that there were a lot of opportunities to utilize the virtual world as a means of extended learning and teaching. By developing within the virtual world like Second Life, we can extend the classes to reach other countries but the students’ avatars occupy the class. Ideas can be shared, videos and audio can be presented. A new form of e-learning.

Today, Second Life is planning on making a resurgence and despite having millions of users, its Facebook’s already large user base and of course, money that will help promote their version of the metaverse that will take center stage.

However, while others see it as monetary investments, I wish for the new explorers to see an opportunity in using the virtual experience to improve mental health, education, and socialization.

Read more:

Second Life’s creator is back to build a ‘metaverse that doesn’t harm people

Parallel Metaverse – The Rise of Virtual Worlds

Why you should care about Facebook’s big push into the metaverse