The Social Implications of XR: Promises, Perils, and Potential

Abstract

In 1992, Stephenson [1] described a type of metaverse in his science fiction novel Snow Crash . Through his imagination, Stephenson is said to have directly influenced the makers of Google Earth, and, more recently, Silicon Valley’s “Metaverse” [2] . In addition, there was a spate of literature published 15–20 years ago, related to metaverse concepts with the introduction of Second Life in June 2003 by Linden Labs. Many users experienced virtual spaces, shopped with virtual currency (Linden dollar, L ${\$}$ ), and even frequented virtual storefronts [3] .