Everyone needs to feel comfortable in the metaverse. It’s how it is done:

Being in the thick of everything is always exciting. There are multiple options, as well as many often to form them. The metaverse’s potential is great (some analysts estimate that the overall market for trading in metaverse-like environments is around $1.3 trillion), and many voices will shape its design. While accepting this optimism, it is critical to acknowledge and fight the problems. We require a metaverse for good, especially when it comes to children.

Gaming apps like Roblox and Fortnite, as well as virtual reality headgear, have opened the door to a virtual world that now attracts millions of users every day, with kids and teens accounting for the majority of participants. In reality, Roblox has up to 55 million daily average users, whereas Minecraft has roughly 25 million, with 67 percent of Roblox users being under the age of 16. It’s all happening at breakneck speed, with no established norms of conduct or ethics.

Because of the virus, children have access to more games on more devices for longer periods of time. They are witnessing a wide range of behaviors.   And policing itself is becoming extremely difficult. All of this is happening in the midst of a teen medical emergency.

A secure metaverse should be possible.

The only form of metaverse that children should visit is one that is safe and secure.

That is why technologies like those developed by SuperAwesome are so welcome, and why WPP has partnered with them on a worldwide scale. These technologies ensure that children have a safe digital experience as well as that privacy and advertising standards are followed across their virtual experiences.

It’s not surprising that 72 percent of parents who are aware of the metaverse are concerned about their children’s privacy, and 66 percent are aware of safety, according to a survey taken by WPP business Wunderman Thompson. That is why businesses are already developing virtual reality experiences tailored to the needs of young people while ensuring their privacy and safety.

But this is only the beginning. We must learn how to build better algorithms and economic structures, as well as intervene effectively if the metaverse as a whole is to be a truly safe environment for our children (and ourselves). Creating methods for ‘doing better’ is not outside the system that created the virtual world in the first place.

There are a few easy wins. So, what do we need to do to make the metaverse happen? How about awarding and promoting behavior and community development?

We’ve seen how to complete anonymity can cause issues. How can we encourage people to show up and be themselves in virtual spaces while also maintaining that they are safe?

Detecting new behaviors should absolutely be included. The metaverse offers previously unimaginable immersive 3D digital experiences and actions, but it also permits a new set of behaviors, some of which are concerning and many of which should not come as a surprise. 

They remind me of Second Life, an online virtual environment that debuted in 2003. Meta’s personal boundary approach to harassment in their virtual reality area, Horizon World, is a start, but is it enough?

To be secure, the metaverse must have many voices.

When positivity becomes a business requirement, we’ve seen fantastic things happen. This is where we are right now. It’s why it’s critical to cast a wide net when creating these ecosystems, and for wide-ranging and diverse engagement in the opportunities they provide.

Market forces will also play a role. But, more crucially, proactive self-reflection and collaboration as an industry – as a true ecosystem – are the keys to creating a metaverse for good.

The metaverse will be extremely amazing if we can get it correctly.

If it is safe, the metaverse provides great potential for businesses. Companies will be able to display their brands on a variety of surfaces, products, apparel, and footwear. The business options that this provides will help to support and construct the metaverse that we desire.

A good example is Under Armor. The first metaverse wearable – a sneaker – was produced when it decided to honor great basketball player Stephen Curry in an immersive virtual method.

The sneaker was made in an exclusive of 2,974 NFTs to recognize the athlete’s world record. Following places, Sandbox, Gala Games, and Rumble Kong League were among the gaming platforms that allowed players to travel through the metaverse while obtaining and wearing the same sneaker. The NFTs were promptly sold out, and the aim of raising $1 million for Under Armour’s charities was met.

However, brand safety, openness, and quantitative results will not always be built into metaverse-like initiatives. Protocols for attaining commercial transparency do not yet exist, just as governance and risk frameworks do not. Putting these standards in place retrospectively will only get more complex, especially across networks.

We are creating the metaverse from the ground up, and the prospects are enormous if we address the difficulties head-on and jointly.