Happy Nice Mall

This does not bode well for the metadata store, where avatars are likely to be the primary way we communicate and interact with each other. Noelle Martin, a legal researcher at the University of Western Australia and co-author of an upcoming paper on Meta’s metaverse, voices precisely such concerns. “If people can customize 3D hyperrealistic virtual human avatars or change, filter and manipulate their digital identities, [there is] a potential to affect body dysmorphia, selfie dysmorphia, and eating disorders… producing] ‘unrealistic and unattainable’ beauty standards, especially for young girls,” she said via email.

This fear is not unfounded. Facebook has been criticized for silencing internal research. Instagram has a toxic effect on body image for teenage girls. A report in the Wall Street Journal found that the app’s content focuses on body and lifestyle, making users more susceptible to body dysmorphia. But in the metaverse, where in many cases avatars will be the main way to stand out, vulnerable people may feel more pressure to adjust their appearance. The customizable avatars in the metaverse can also be used to “inflame racial injustices and inequalities,” Martin says.

Meta spokesperson Eloise Quintanilla said the company is aware of potential issues: “We’re asking ourselves important questions like how much change makes sense to make avatars a positive and safe experience.” Microsoft, recently announced their metaverse plans, also examines the use of avatars, but her research focuses heavily on workplace settings such as meetings.

The possibility of metaverse avatars for kids raises another set of legal and ethical questions. Roblox, the wildly successful gaming platform whose primary market is children, has long used avatars as the primary means by which players interact with one another. And the company announced its own plans for a metaverse last month; CEO and founder David Baszucki declaration He said Roblox’s metadatabase will be a place where “you have to be the person you want to be”. So far, Roblox avatars have been fun, but Baszucki said the company is pursuing fully customizable ones: “Any body, any face, any hair, any clothing, any movement, any face tracking, it all comes together. “We have a hunch. If we do this right, we will see an explosion of creativity not only among our creators but also among our users.”

Ultimately, avatars represent how we want to look. Still, there are no plans for when and when things inevitably go wrong. Technology has to walk a fine line, staying true to people’s identities without threatening the sanity of the people behind the avatars. As Park said: “We won’t be able to stop the Metaverse. So we have to prepare wisely.” If the Facebook documents show anything, it’s that social media companies are well aware of the health implications of their technology, but governments and social safety nets are lagging behind in protecting the most vulnerable.

Crane understands the risks of more realistic avatars for those with body dysmorphia, but says the power of being able to see yourself in the virtual world would be indescribable. “For me, the joy of accurately representing myself means that I am not the only one who believes my existence is valid,” she says. “This means that a team of developers sees my potential to exist as much as I appear to be a man.”