The metaverse—a blend of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and our digital presence—opens a new dimension for mental health. However, as we step into this digital journey, ensuring a safe environment becomes crucial, especially in addressing issues like cyberbullying.
Speaking on the future of the metaverse, Mark Zuckerberg said in 2022 that “the metaverse will allow people to do almost anything imaginable.” However, with such boundless opportunities, a new realm of mental health concerns arises. This blog therefore delves into the very pertinent subject of mental health in the metaverse, and what it will take to create a safe space for users.
Opportunities for Mental Health Support in the Metaverse
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Virtual Therapy Spaces:
Think of a therapist’s office where the walls are customized to your favorite peaceful landscape, be it a beach at sunset or a quiet mountain top. This way, therapy can occur in the metaverse, and the immersive environments can be created regardless of the physical locations of the participants.
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Peer Support Groups in Virtual Communities
Think, for an instance, you are part of a support group of people in a virtual café where members sit virtually from different parts of the world and share their stories of depression or anxiety. Such experiences can be made possible in the metaverse – global peer support in virtual settings.
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Immersive Meditation & Relaxation Spaces
Stress is an issue that many people experience, but with metaverse, there are themed relaxing rooms meant to ease stress. If all five senses are involved in the metaverse, and the person’s perceived presence is heightened, practicing mindfulness becomes even more effective in these virtual spaces.
The Risks: Mental Health Challenges in a Virtual World
However, as with anything, the metaverse has a dark side that has to be recognized as well. As any new territory, it has its risks— risks that affect mental health in a rather significant manner.
The Danger of Disconnecting from Reality:
The major drawback here is that when people are able to construct worlds that they’d like, they can get too obsessed and end up living more in the created reality than in actual real life. A 2021 survey by Stanford University showed that people who stay for long hours within VR environments are likely to develop symptoms of dissociative disorder in which they feel separate from the real world. “It rapidly becomes difficult to distinguish what is real and what is fantasy, especially for vulnerable persons,” noted Dr. Jesse Fox, the psychologist who participated in the study.
Cyberbullying and Harassment in Virtual Worlds:
Similarly to social media, people in the metaverse cannot escape harassment and bullying either. But here, it’s even more invasive as it can occur in shared 3D spaces where you are virtually experiencing through an avatar.
One recent example occurred in Meta’s Horizon Worlds, when one user was groped virtually by another. Despite the fact that avatars are only virtual creations, the feelings of suffering were genuine. According to a Pew Research Center’s report, 41% of adults have been harassed online, and the issue may be worsened by the metaverse.
Addiction and Escapism:
Consequently, the more the metaverse gets exciting, it becomes possible for a person to get hooked. Relating to virtual worlds act as a coping mechanism for those facing harsh realities of life. According to A 2022 survey, about 30% of VR users have symptoms of addiction with young people being more vulnerable due to their affection to it. It might also seem that when people immerse themselves into the world of fairy tales or other complex stories, reality often seems dull and unappealing to them.
Building a Safe & Inclusive Virtual Space
In dealing with such issues, an important foundation when designing areas in the metaverse pertains to the safety, comfort, and capability of the users.
AI Moderation: The Digital Bouncer We Need
While trolls and harassers are the gatecrashers of the metaverse, AI moderation tools are the equivalent to the vigilant bouncers. Thanks to the progress in artificial intelligence, highly complex systems can learn to monitor conversations, identify toxic patterns and give instant feedback.
One of them is the Toxic Speech Detector which was implemented by such a platform as Roblox and, according to the results, decreased the amount of hate speech by 70%. To sum up, as AI becomes wiser, it can turn into an even more powerful tool that will help protect cyberspaces from adverse effects, creating safer virtual communities free from cyberbullying.
Promoting Digital Empathy & Emotional Intelligence
While it’s fun to come up with fancy virtual environments, it’s a whole different ball game to design them with mental health and empathy in mind. In the metaverse where people interact in the real time within the 3D space, it is crucial that institutions encourage people to be emotionally intelligent to foster healthy social interactions.
Empathy VR is a project that intends to teach users about social awareness and empathy by allowing them to view the reality from the eyes of the victims. The features of role-playing in the form of various avatars allow users to become wiser on topics such as mental illness or discrimination and develop more kindness in cyberspace.
Creating Safe Boundaries & Guidelines
That is why as in the real world, the metaverse requires guidelines and restrictions. Platforms should enforce “Digital Safe Spaces” where harassment, stalking, and cyberbullying are strictly prohibited. This includes policies and rules regarding how and with whom users can interact and making sure that there are sufficient licensed therapists present and available on these websites.
Conclusion: The Future of Mental Health in the Metaverse
As enthralling as the concept of the metaverse is, there are still many challenges to go through. It has the potential to change the way we deal with mental health issues, providing new modalities of treatment, self-help, and stress relief. Well, as in every other powerful invention, there’s always the saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
We as users, developers, and mental health consumers should work together to make this environment safe, healthy, and one where healthy boundaries for all parties are clear, emotions are well-managed, and protecting users from cyberbullying.
