ABSTRACT
Meta comes from the Greek word meta, which means “after” or “beyond”. When combined with words in English, meta- often signifies “change” or “alteration”, as in the word metamorphic. So, we are at the entrance of a new universe in communication that the companies and social media groups are building, like Facebook or Instagram, that pour its resources into constructing virtual reality products and setting up the metaverse. This is a concept that blends augmented reality and virtual reality together, providing people with the future of the internet, where the new generations create their new digital communication universe. How will the new communication in this new universe be constructed? Are we facing a complete change of how we communicate on the internet?
Author Neal Stephenson, in his 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, in which he envisioned lifelike avatars who met in realistic 3D buildings and other virtual reality environments, is credited with coining the term “metaverse”.
The metaverse is a combination of multiple elements of technology, like virtual reality, augmented reality, and video where users “live” within a digital universe. The vision for this new universe is that its users can work, play, and stay connected with friends through everything. Inklings of the metaverse already exist in online game universes such as Fortnite, Minecraft and Roblox.
