Meta

The Metaverse May Be Virtual, But the Impact Will Be Real

Takeaways

  • Today, we’re launching a new campaign in Europe to showcase the potential social and economic impact of the metaverse.
  • The metaverse has the potential to deliver real-world benefits that we’re only just starting to imagine, like a surgeon practising an operation virtually to students travelling to ancient Rome to study its history.
  • The metaverse won’t be built or owned by a single company. We’re collaborating with policymakers, experts and industry partners to bring it to life.

The metaverse will transform the way people connect, businesses grow, and creators make a living, and bring about better social experiences than anything that exists online today. Our new campaign, ‘The Impact Will Be Real’ which will run in multiple European countries from September 5, will give people a first glimpse of what these benefits could be. For example, in the metaverse, we will be able to learn in 3D — bringing the study of architecture, history or even basic geometry to life in ways white boards and flat screens can’t. There are also endless possibilities for training healthcare professionals — from practising surgery in virtual environments to training first responders without putting them in dangerous situations. 

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The metaverse could also have a real impact on Europe’s digital economy. A white paper produced for Meta by the Analysis Group estimates that if adoption of the metaverse in Europe were to grow similarly to mobile technology, it could be associated with a $440 billion contribution to the regional GDP after a decade. 

While virtual reality is here now and already having real impact, much of what we envision for the metaverse is still about a decade away, and requires collaboration across industries and with experts, academics, civil society, governments and regulators to get it right. We’re starting these conversations early and hope the campaign will help to spark further conversation and collaboration across industries and with experts in Europe and beyond.