While metaverse developments and subsequent mentions in the media have slowed recently, many in Big Tech continue to think about what the metaverse will look and feel like. Experimentation continues, with visions of a virtual world where users can work, play, and communicate in real time via simulated scenarios. So far, much of the discussion has focused on how the metaverse will change workplace collaboration and the entertainment sector, namely gaming. But how will the natural world appear in the metaverse?
Is a dystopian or visionary world developing?
Although the metaverse is in the early stages of development, platforms like Decentraland have already enabled users to buy virtual plots of land and create scenes from a “medieval dungeon maze” to “entire villages”. While the platform is reportedly mostly empty, with glitches and clunky controls, the imagined worlds continue to be created. However, from a brief hour spent on the platform, it is clear that our natural world is not recreated or enhanced through these virtual creations. And while it is possible that more users will enter metaverse platforms, purchase virtual lands, and populate the pixels with trees, wildlife, and greenery as they develop, will this ever be comparable to our real green spaces?
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Is Gen Z driving the demand for metaverse virtual worlds?
Generation Z, the segment of the population born between 1997 and 2012, is said to be the key market for the metaverse. The group is characterized as digital natives who grew up with social media and supposedly trust computers more than their human creators. This conclusion does appear true in Gen Z’s greater appetite for digital services, from banking to shopping, and through their increased acceptance of remote working.
However, it is important to remember that while Gen Z can surprise us, as with their behavior online, they are still humans, and when it comes to nature, they need access to it as much as the rest of us.
The social and health benefits of the natural world cannot be replicated
Earlier this year, research from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare found that individuals who visited green spaces three to four times a week cut their chance of needing drugs for mental health problems or high blood pressure by a third, and for asthma by about a quarter. This is just the latest in a string of studies revealing the importance of regular access to nature for our health and wellbeing. A quick web search pulls up dozens upon dozens of quantitative studies explaining the benefits of nature in improving sleep, lowering stress, and reducing the risk of psychiatric disorders and cardiovascular disease alongside a host of other cognitive and physical health benefits.
Despite the knowledge that green space, especially wild spaces such as woodlands, significantly improves our lives, access to such spaces continues to shrink. According to The World Bank, 4.4 billion people globally live in urban areas today and by 2045 the world’s urban population will increase to a staggering six billion. As cities plan for increased housing and public infrastructure needs, they must also make access to nature central to all plans, or risk creating communities with significantly diminished health.
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By GlobalDataTurning to the metaverse is not the answer
As citizens around the world lose access to nature, as well as the time needed to explore it, moving to the metaverse as a virtual haven is not the answer. The benefits of nature will not be felt through a screen, as was noted globally during countless pandemic lockdowns. Instead, access to nature should be prioritized and any policies moving in the opposite direction must be halted. In England alone, the right to roam and wild camp is now prohibited on 92% of land, though several campaigns are actively working to challenge these laws. Both companies and individuals must work together to protect access to nature if they want healthy contributors to the economy and community life. Green space is needed locally, not in the metaverse.
