7 Ways the Metaverse is Changing Our Lives

When the internet was first released to the public in 1991, few people imagined that it would change our world in the way that it has. Everything from how we connect with each other to how we work. Now the metaverse is changing our lives in an even greater way.

Seven ways the metaverse will affect our lives include business, communication, education, entertainment, gaming, travel, and real estate industries. Each sector will be virtualized, creating new opportunities, expedited results, and a new virtual economy.

Below is a list of seven ways the metaverse will affect our lives, and what the future of the metaverse looks like in each industry.

1. Business

Internet-based technologies such as video calling, remote conferencing, and online team collaboration tools make it possible for people to work together in real-time regardless of their physical location.

The metaverse is changing how we conduct business by:

• Allowing you to work from anywhere in the world
• Enabling you to work in any kind of setting, such as the beach
• Fostering stronger bonds and team environments even when working remotely
• Working in the same virtual shared space with one another no matter where you are
• Increasing productivity and organization
• Reduce or eliminate business-related travel expenses

The business of tomorrow will be conducted in a virtual space, where people can actually see and interact with their remote co-workers in a shared environment.

Sitting down with your peers and colleagues worldwide and conducting business enables people to forge bonds and deepen their relationships in a way that isn’t possible through a screen.

With the metaverse, you will actually be able to look someone in the eye, shake their hand, and feel the grip of someone’s hand, even though thousands of miles separate you.

Team members can sit down at the same table and work on projects together from the comfort of their own homes, enabling companies to hire from anywhere without the need for costly work visas and sponsorship programs.

Additionally, the metaverse allows you to work in any kind of setting. Say you need a nice quiet place to relax while you work, such as the beach, the metaverse allows you to change your setting on demand. Then, once you are done with your big project, you can instantly teleport back to your office to present your work.

Imagine having everything you need at your fingertips. This is already the case for most of us through the use of our phones and computers, but what if you didn’t even need that. Rather, all your files, tasks, notifications, and contacts will be stored on your metaverse profile, and accessible through virtual reality.

Likewise, if you have big business meetings or a conference you need to attend, you won’t need to worry about traveling halfway across the world. Instead, you can stay in the comfort of your own home, enjoy the conference, and even network with other attendees in a virtual environment.

Ultimately, the metaverse will expand the reach of companies, increase networking opportunities, and transform recruitment and collaboration forever.

2. Communication

Video calling is something we take for granted, but it wasn’t long ago that this was resigned to the realm of science-fiction.

The metaverse is transforming communication by:

• Giving you the ability to interact with anyone from anywhere, in a shared virtual environment
• Experiencing others’ facial expressions and body language
• Creating an online identity for ourselves through our own avatar

The metaverse goes one step further and will allow people to meet up with one another in what appears to be a physical way. Meaning that rather than just looking at somebody’s face on your mobile device, you will actually be able to see the other person or groups of people, right there, as if they were standing beside you.

You will never need to miss another birthday party, business meeting, or get-together with family or friends because you’re out of town. Or at least, “I can’t make it” will be less of an excuse because you can easily participate in any event, no matter where you are in the world and at no cost to you.

You’ll be able to meet up with anyone, anywhere, without ever having to leave home. Commutes will be a thing of the past, as there will be no need for physical offices. All you will need is your VR device and your avatar.

3. Education

In the same way that web browsers are the hallmark of the current internet, virtual worlds will be the cornerstone of the metaverse. As such, education as we know it will improve by leaps and bounds because students will be able to enter the pages of their textbooks, seeing firsthand what they are studying rather than reading about it.

The metaverse will evolve our education system by:

• Allowing you to be present in the period or environment you’re actually learning about 
• Giving students hands-on experience
• Enabling people to learn from anywhere
• Reduce the cost and entrance fees to quality education

One of the main focuses of the metaverse is the education system. In fact, our current education system is 200 years old, and many argue that how students are taught, and what is taught in schools is actually largely outdated and somewhat irrelevant.

Kids and even adult students are accustomed to consuming content and interacting with others in a digital environment as it is, and leaders building the metaverse are ready to take education to the next level using this new technology as a foundation.

Just imagine if you were back in grade school learning about the dinosaurs, now imagine if you could actually be in the same environment as the dinosaurs and learn about each one individually as if you were standing next to one in person.

Or, pretend for a second that you are a surgical intern. Before performing surgery on a real human, students can learn the ins and outs of the surgery on a virtual figure. Of course, you might be thinking virtual surgery could never compare to the real thing, but with the advancement in technology, this use-case is already a reality.

Moreover, what we should learn in school and the ways of the world are changing, meaning that we need teachers who are able to help others learn about our world and all the new opportunities that we are presented with, such as developers for the metaverse.   

Mark Zuckerberg is one person who is considered to be a leader in the metaverse space, and despite people’s opinions about him, he is going to play a large role in the development of the metaverse. 

In order to get to a point where we can use the metaverse to learn in a virtual environment, Meta has set aside $150 million to train the next generation of creators to build immersive learning content and increase access to devices. Also, Meta is establishing a professional curriculum and certification process for those who want to help build the future of the metaverse.

4. Entertainment

Film and television transformed how we entertain ourselves in a way the world had never before seen. Now, the metaverse will do the same thing in an even greater way.

The metaverse will change the entertainment industry in countless ways, here are some examples:

• Consumers will be immersed in the experience, not just watching from afar
• Fans can experience shows and events regardless of location
• Seating capacity is a thing of the past
• Entertainers can further expand their reach and audience engagement
• NFTs allow fans to own digital assets and experiences in the metaverse

With the advent of the metaverse, motion pictures will become a relic of the past. As we become immersed in these fantastic worlds, we will watch the drama unfold all around us. We will actually be there in the film ourselves.

Sporting events and concerts will sell virtual tickets so that there will no longer be any such thing as a seating capacity. You’ll be able to attend the big game from your couch, and you’ll always have the best seat in the house.

Season tickets will soon become an affordable subscription service, and you’ll be able to attend the World Cup Finals in Rome and the Olympics in Rio on the same day, jumping back and forth between the two in mere seconds.

As for the entertainers themselves, the metaverse allows them to expand their reach and revenue, offer consumers a more personable relationship, and give more access and value to their consumers all around the world.

In the metaverse, musicians have the potential to sell millions of tickets to their show, not just thousands. Also, entertainers will save on costs for renting out a venue that large, if there even is a venue large enough to hold that many people.

Overall, the metaverse brings more value to both consumers and entertainers alike. Entertainers can provide more opportunities for their consumers, and consumers will provide more income and support to their favorite entertainers.

Whether it be your favorite influencer, musician, or sports team, the metaverse opens up an entirely new way to offer and consume entertainment.

5. Gaming

The video games of tomorrow will be something entirely different from what we know today. Rather than playing the games, we will experience them firsthand.

The metaverse is revolutionizing gaming by:

• Creating an all-immersive gaming experience
• Adding a play-to-earn (P2E) element
• Allowing players to own and profit from their in-game assets
• Enabling more in-game advertisement opportunities for brands

Being virtually immersed in games and physically navigating each game’s world, quests, and challenges will reward players with a sense of accomplishment beyond anything that modern video gaming experiences can offer.

Metaverse gaming also rewards players with cryptocurrency and digital assets, which can be exchanged for actual money. This play-to-earn element is the true evolution of gaming, and the metaverse is where a majority of these games will soon thrive.

Games like Axie Infinity and The Sandbox are two examples of games that already incorporate a true play-to-earn element within a metaverse atmosphere. That’s likely the reason for both their successes, with Axie Infinity being the first NFT game to generate more than $4 billion in sales alone.

This play-to-earn structure will be the new standard for gaming in the metaverse, allowing players to literally own their in-game items. Meaning players can buy, sell, and trade items with others, and earn a full-time income doing so.

As if the P2E structure wasn’t exciting enough, the immersiveness of the metaverse provides brands and businesses with new advertising opportunities. Just like you often see billboards, screens, and events advertising various brands in the real world, the metaverse allows games to incorporate these same advertisements into the game’s world.

Of course, this is all secondary to having the ability to make new friends from all over the world, which might help combat loneliness, depression, and isolation in a way never before possible.

6. Travel

Travel these days is expensive, time-consuming, and often reserved for those with disposable income. The metaverse will unlock the world for everyone so that regardless of your schedule, budget, or obligations, you’ll be able to take a trip wherever you want while still being home for dinner.

The metaverse is changing the way we travel by:

• Creating a lower cost of entry
• Enabling people with tight schedules to travel more frequently
• Allowing you to teleport to any location in the world
• Empowering you to travel to new and imaginative worlds that don’t exist in real life

One of the key ways that the metaverse will change travel is by allowing anyone with an avatar to experience the world without having to pay for airfare, food, and a place to stay. That’s not to say that traveling in the metaverse will be completely free, however, I believe that the cost will be significantly less compared to real-world travel.

Furthermore, those with a strict schedule will have the opportunity to travel anywhere in the world and still be able to make it back to work on time, without the jetlag. This speed of travel is mainly due to the ability to literally teleport in the metaverse.

You could be sitting on the beach watching the sunrise in Hawaii at 7 AM and still make it to work by 7:30 AM for your shift.

With the metaverse, travel won’t be restricted to just Earth either. You can travel to spectacular new worlds, visit other planets, travel backward and forward in time to virtual recreations of the past, present, future, and much more.

If you have ever wondered if time travel and teleportation would ever become a reality, I’m here to tell you that it is absolutely real in the metaverse.

7. Real Estate

Another practical application of the metaverse is in the real estate industry. Real estate is already a huge deal in the real world, but the metaverse unlocks new opportunities like never before.

The metaverse is changing real estate by:

• Allowing you to attend a physical open-house, via virtual reality 
• Enabling virtual real estate investing
• Buy, sell, and trade virtual real estate
• Providing businesses means to expand their reach across the metaverse

First and foremost, you’ll be able to attend open houses without leaving home so that you can decide whether or not you want to buy a physical property without having to visit it in real life. With that, the opportunity to buy investment properties all around the world becomes a whole lot easier. Go PropTech is one example of a company that is already offering virtual investment solutions through virtual renovation and staging and even offers users a VR experience. 

But the metaverse goes way beyond that. You can actually buy, sell, and trade virtual lots and properties. Not only is buying and selling virtual real estate extremely easy, but it’s also much quicker compared to the process of buying real-life properties.

Since properties in the metaverse are stored on the blockchain as NFTs, you can simply go to one of many marketplaces (like Opensea) where properties are available and purchase them with the touch of a button. 

The blockchain handles the transfer of ownership, contracts, and the distribution of any fees that may come with purchasing virtual real estate. 

In general, building in the metaverse is going to require a lot fewer materials and time to get the job done, but the fees may still be quite high when hiring a professional virtual architect to build you a custom structure in the metaverse. 

Currently, virtual architects, builders charge anywhere from $10,000 to more than $300,000 depending on the size and detail of the job.

Although metaverse real estate offers huge opportunities for consumers, brands and businesses will also greatly benefit from owning their own space in the metaverse. It makes sense, right?

Wherever consumers are spending most of their time, expect businesses and their competitors to be right there with them. Just like social media is filled with countless advertisements and calls to action, the metaverse will be as well. Just as soon as the consumers start spending more time there.

Many name-brands like Addidas, Nike, and Gucci already own property in the metaverse and are conducting business as usual. However, this is just the beginning of something much greater. 

By now, you’re starting to get a picture of what the metaverse is, how it works, and what’s possible with the next iteration of the internet.

With the exception of electricity and the internet itself, there has never been a bigger thing than the metaverse in terms of its impact on how we live our lives. 

Right now, we are witnessing the birth of the metaverse, and the tools and technologies that will be fundamental in constructing it are still in their infancy. As such, it’s hard to imagine what the future of the metaverse will look like at its’ peak, but surely it revolutionize the world as we know it today.