Musings on the Metaverse and on how the Internet of Digital Reality Encompasses Future Developments of the Internet

Abstract

Internet of Digital Reality (IoD) is a concept that encompasses various aspects of the next level of communication between digital cognitive entities. Extending the concept of IoT and IoE, IoD includes all kinds of entities interacting in virtual reality, focusing not only on the technology, physical and logical networks, but also on cognitive aspects and human factors. The Metaverse – as a key element of IoD – was introduced and has lately been re-vitalized as a kind of vision for the future of the Internet, especially focusing on social media, where users interact via their avatars in a fully immersive VR scenario. In this paper, I nevertheless argue that IoD is more than a “VR Facebook”, and that although the Metaverse can offer a new kind of experience, it isn’t free from drawbacks and valid criticisms.