People wonder if Meta is a step in the wrong direction for social media

WILL DUMOND

After the occurrence of the whistleblower incident this past October, Facebook rebranded to Meta on Oct. 28. Their plan is to expand the Metaverse through virtual reality.

Meta’s virtual reality brand, called Oculus, hopes to use the technology they have created to implement virtual reality into everyday use. Virtual reality makes 3D objects appear around you with 360 degree rotation views.

There will be benefits from this new technology, like virtual reality meetings that can be held in separate nations at the same time and other benefits of communication. The use of Zoom may not be needed. However, these benefits may come with

downsides. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), 90 percent of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 use social media daily. Many of these teenagers use social media for hours on end. A new platform could worsen addictions and lead to a need for social media even stronger than before. Junior Aiden Rodgers, the PR Representative for the band, has knowledge of how to get people hooked onto posts and keep people interested.

“By social media’s design, it is virtually impossible to not be submerged into social media,” Rodgers said. “That is what Meta is designed to do.”

It seems to be true that social media is hard not to be submerged into, but Meta is trying to make virtual reality the new norm. This raises questions, like “How will it be regulated? Will this be a step in the wrong direction if implemented into schools?”

“Social media is part of a lot of issues,” School counselor Mrs. Cacace said. She also added that in an ever changing society, there are benefits and disadvantages to all new things.

Although there are people that can receive a negative response from social media, some people have found new good experiences from social media.

“Social media opened me to the world of art,” Junior Lily LaFemina said. She also said that without social media, she wouldn’t be the artist she is today although she overuses it.

Meta is hopeful that social media will be a better experience when the Metaverse is created. Though there is criticism and support, only time will tell if this actually happens.