Illustration by Bianca Rader
Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg announced last month the company’s name will change to Meta in a desperate attempt to save his dying social platform and flee to a virtual world with no consequences.
Virtual reality is the perfect distraction from the crumbling society Facebook helped create and it’s up to Zuckerberg to decide if video games are more important than the future of humankind.
Zuckerberg said the company will shift its focus to virtual and augmented reality experiences in what he called the “metaverse,” during an Oct. 28 Facebook Connect 2021 event.
Facebook Connect is a one-day remote annual event that explores the future of augmented reality where industry leaders share the latest technologies and how to use them, according to its website.
As Earth creeps toward a climate change-driven death, Zuckerberg is making sure privileged tech users can experience the virtual world’s fun as the real one burns around them.
The Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms will remain the same but they will fall under the umbrella company of Meta, according to an Oct. 28 founder’s letter from Zuckerberg.
Although the metaverse is now the main focus of the company, it’s good to know Facebook will stick around to allow hate groups and conspiracy theorists to plan their next insurrection.
The term “metaverse” was first coined in the 1992 science fiction novel “Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson, according to a Nov. 3 CNBC article.
The novel depicts a version of the future where individuals enter a virtual world with digital avatars to escape their dystopian reality in which corporations wield more power than governments.
It’s unknown whether the book was a stereotypical sci-fi trope that coincidentally predicted future events or if Zuckerberg is avidly trying to create a global hellscape where people are reliant on his technology for happiness.
The metaverse announcement comes shortly after a former Facebook employee testified in front of Congress to describe how the company ignored several signs of “combustible election misinformation” following the 2020 presidential election, according to an Oct. 22 New York Times article.
The Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen said Zuckerberg’s decision to focus on his new video game endeavour indicates his ignorance to Facebook’s security downfalls, according to a Nov. 1 Reuters article.
“Over and over Facebook chooses expansion and new areas instead of sticking the landing on what they’ve already done,” Haugen said in her first public address at the opening night of the Web Summit, which was livestreamed on YouTube Nov. 1.
The Web Summit is an annual technology conference held in Lisbon, Portugal that was founded in 2009, according to its website.
Zuckerberg’s efforts to pursue virtual reality make him seem like a child eager to take out new toys before cleaning up the mess he already made.
If he wants to spend his time in the metaverse, it’s his duty to hand control to someone with more dedication, responsibility and sufficient human emotion.
Calls for Zuckerberg to step down from his position have increased, with encouragement from Haugen, according to the Reuters article.
“I think it is unlikely the company will change if [Zuckerberg] remains the CEO,” Haugen said at the Web Summit. “Maybe it’s a chance for someone else to take the reins . . . Facebook would be stronger with someone who was willing to focus on safety.”
It’s time for Zuckerberg to decide whether he wants to live in the real world and face real consequences or hide from them in the metaverse’s comforts.