The article’s reporting asks the same questions about the boundaries between the digital self and a physical being raised in the metaverse.
“I froze.” Patel isn’t the only woman to report digital sexual harassment on Meta’s virtual reality platforms or in other digital worlds in the metaverses.
“All of these innovations and technology that can make a digital life seem like a real one with real feelings, that has exacerbated the impact of sexual misconduct in a metaverse,” Michael Bugeja, a professor at Iowa State University who teaches media ethics and technology, said.
Then there’s Meta: Last year it developed a prototype for a haptic glove far more sophisticated than its current hand controls that would allow people to feel an object’s weight and texture when they lift it in a digital world.
It’s unsurprising then that digital sexual harassment was routine in early virtual worlds.
Metaverse platforms will encourage people to spend more time and money on their avatar and their digital life.
Developers pushing metaverses will need to come to a consensus on what digital harassment means, and shapers of these metaverses should listen to those affected.
Source : The metaverse has a sexual harassment problem and it’s going to get worse(Morning Brew)
