From Proteus to the Metaverse

It's 2023 and we are smack dab in the middle of the Web3 and Metaverse education cycle if you believe the experts. I am confident that the blockchain-based, decentralized internet (Web3) will soon become our new favorite place to spend much of our time, and that our interactions with it will be fully three-dimensional and immersive thanks to the development of VR/AR/MR and other computer vision-enhanced hardware. Many of us already spend considerable time in VR environments, whether playing games or interacting with friends on VRChat, AltspaceVR, or Horizon worlds.

That is what brings?me to the topic of this month: the Metaverse, but specifically the use of avatars and their potential effect on our behaviour. Most virtual environments require users to create a "character" that acts as their "representation" in that world before they can interact with it. Depending on the type of game or virtual reality experience, you may be able to choose between two genders. Each gender has its own set of traits and ways of looking that are already set. However, a Digital Twin of yourself is only possible to create on platforms like Reblium by Reblika, the best tool out there for doing it in a simple and straightforward manner, no complicated 3D software to learn how to use first or code to implement.

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with the company's founder and CEO, Mao Lin Liao, on the role of avatars in games, the Metaverse, and other contexts. In that discussion, Mao mentioned that individuals prefer to build avatars that reflect how they feel or how they see themselves rather than an exact reproduction of their physical appearance, as a matter of fact, some users could spend hours just customizing and “creating” their avatar on Reblium.

Hearing those words, a book I read several months ago came to mind: Nick Yee's "The Proteus Paradox: How Online Games and Virtual Worlds Change Us—And How They Don't". In that book, Nick examines the Proteus effect and offers the results of his research into the social dynamics and psychology of virtual worlds and online games.

The Proteus effect refers to the way in which one's online persona can affect one's actions and beliefs; it is named after the Greek god Proteus, who was able to alter his appearance at will. In modern virtual worlds, the Proteus effect has not been the subject of extensive research or observation, and most mental health specialists are unaware that such a phenomenon exists. In 2014, when he wrote his book, Nick Yee conducted research on users of World of Warcraft, the most popular MMORPG (Massively multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), as well as with gamers of other, smaller online games and digital entertainment, but 3D visual content and games have come a long way since then and look much closer to the real thing than back in the day.

In more recent times, players on virtual reality platforms like VRChat have been found to be more susceptible to the Proteus effect in recent, albeit smaller-scale investigations. Reasons for this include characteristics of the online community, the high-resolution visuals and its users on the socio-psychological spectrum. VRChat's anonymity and gender-fluid environment contribute significantly to the Proteus effect's heightened impact. Avatars can be anything from Furries to anime heroines to any figure or animal the player desires, giving them a chance to express themselves in a way they never could in their real lives. That way, people can try on personae, genders, and roles they might not otherwise feel comfortable with in the actual world.

Additionally, the lack of accountability that is present in virtual environments can also have a positive impact, as it allows users to express themselves freely without fear of judgment or persecution. I do believe that the Proteus effect is a powerful phenomenon that can have a significant impact on the behaviour and attitudes of users in and outside virtual worlds, for good ….but also for bad. In my opinion, the Proteus effect is a potent phenomenon that has the potential to profoundly affect the behaviour and attitudes of users inside and outside of virtual environments.

It will be important to monitor psychological influences like deindividuation and the Proteus effect as we all begin to spend more time in the Metaverse, where we will each have our own unique avatar that we can customize depending on our mood, the situation, or just because we want to feel different. Eventually, the Metaverse will cause aspects of gender, sexuality, and identity to blur, which will inevitably alter the way we interact with one another.

Just by looking at the year-over-year growth in sales of VR hardware, the growing amount of VRChat users (7.4 million total users today), and other less chaotic virtual platforms for business, entertainment, or events, you can see that the coming of the Metaverse is inevitable. That is why education and information are crucial for us and for the coming generations of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Rapid technological advancements, such as NLP AI bots and AI-driven companions (check out my other articles to learn more about them), are swiftly transforming society. That's a problem because it implies a significant divide is developing between those who are tech-savvy and those who aren't, even though everyone will eventually have to adapt to these game-changing innovations.

Subscribe to my monthly tirade if you don't want to feel left in the technological dust. (?′?`?) ??

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