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Metaverse or Simulacra? Roblox, Minecraft, Meta and the turn to virtual reality for education, socialisation and work

2022; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 30; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/10494820.2022.2022899

1744-5191

Asher Rospigliosi,

Digital Games and Media

The Metaverse: "a computer-generated universe that his computer is drawing" (Stephenson, 1992: p23) "an embodied internet where you're in the experience, not just looking at it" (Zuckerberg, 2021) "a networked collection of inexpensive, self-configuring, immersive environments" (Jaynes et al, 2003: p115) 2021 may well turn out to be the inflection point when the use of virtual reality became widely recognised as the gateway to the metaverse.The rebranding of the world's largest online social network from Facebook to Meta is indicative of a shift that is well underway among the generation who are at schools and university now and is accelerating in those that will engage in learning in the future.It is a turn to the virtual that is likely to play an important role in what we consider to be interactive learning environments.Why is this turn to the virtual worth thinking about?The uptake of virtual reality presents new and highly flexible opportunities for learning environments and learning experiences which mirror changes to how we socialise and work.Virtual reality may also create risks of disconnection from the authentic; a loss of reality from education, work and society, a loss which Baudrillard described as simulacra (1981).