The metaverse. The latest fad, the catchphrase that’s dominated media coverage, reverberated through corporate strategy meetings, and been bellowed from the moguls of the valley. NVIDIA Accenture Globant SK Telecom Everbright Digital NIP Group PowerUp Acquisition …And those companies that say they’re leading us onto this brave new world? Almost as if their names are pulled from a hat at a tech convention. Before you throw your hard-earned cash into these “promising metaverse stocks,” let's ask ourselves a crucial question: Are we building a utopia or paving the road to digital hell?

Digital Echo Chambers or Identity Theft

We’re still fighting echo chambers on today’s social media platforms. What occurs when these echo chambers become quite literally immersive? When your carefully curated digital avatar has every ability to only connect with people who think, look, and believe just as you do? Are we helping the world feel smaller and more connected or making society become more divided? What about your digital identity? That charmingly, posh, and dynamic image you project in the outside world on these online platforms? How secure is it, really? It’s no secret that companies are responsible for this massive trove of user data. In evermore immersive 3D environments, the risks of identity theft and imposter accounts increases exponentially. Imagine if your avatar was then trained to commit hate and violence and troll and gaslight people online. Or irretrievably damage your company's repute in a global place where actual and virtual are ever more invalidated. It’s not just your credit card that’s in danger, it’s you.

Escapism or Exacerbated Inequality

When people talk about the promise of the metaverse, they usually talk about it as an escape. In the digital realm, you can escape the confines of the real world. Enjoy the adventure and transform into whoever you want to be! Who really has access to this kind of escape? Will the metaverse become a playland of the rich, where exclusivity becomes the ultimate luxury good? Or will they use it to deepen their advantages, as the rest of us are living through hard times and getting left in the dust? Will high-speed internet access and affordable advanced VR headsets be widely available? Further, will the public even have the digital skills to navigate these new virtual realms? Or will it just be another enabler of the haves/have-nots divide?

Think about the potential for addiction. If the metaverse offers an escape from the mundane realities of life, what happens when people become so immersed in these virtual worlds that they neglect their physical health, relationships, and responsibilities? We’re already experiencing this push back within the context of video gaming and social media. Imagine that amplified tenfold.

And don’t underestimate the mental health impacts on older adults. Research is already proving the harmful effects of screen time and social media on mental health. What happens when we spend even more time in simulated realities, disconnecting from the tangible world and the people around us?

Corporate Responsibility or Reckless Abandon

All seven of these companies are leading innovators. Together, they are building the metaverse infrastructure in real time. Yet, it is they who have by far the most power to guide its evolution and ensure that it benefits all of us. Far from performing their due-diligence ethical obligations, are they making a mockery of their ethical responsibilities? Or alternatively, are they doing their due diligence and trying to mitigate the unintended and adverse impacts of their technologies? Or are they just chasing short-term profit at all costs, impacting society in ways that don’t matter?

We need to start demanding transparency and accountability on these corporations. Now is the time to ask hard questions about their data privacy policies. We must ask how they are working to encourage digital equity and how they will address negative effects on mental health and social connection. We, as fiduciary investors – and, perhaps more importantly, as citizens – owe it to ourselves to hold them accountable.

Now look, I’m not claiming that the metaverse is some demonic force in the world. Yet, the promise of marvelous new technology and transformational progress is within reach. We should all be careful to engage this new technology with critical thinking and a healthy dose of skepticism. Don’t let the hype and associated FOMO (fear of missing out) blind you. Rather than having a fear of investing, create a fear for investing the wrong way (FIOW).

  • Lack of Regulation: The metaverse is largely unregulated territory. This leaves users vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and fraud.
  • Data Harvesting: Companies are collecting vast amounts of data on users' behavior, preferences, and even emotions within the metaverse. How is this data being used, and who has access to it?
  • Algorithmic Bias: The algorithms that govern these virtual worlds can perpetuate existing biases and inequalities.
  • Digital Addiction: The immersive nature of the metaverse can be highly addictive, leading to social isolation and mental health problems.

Before you invest in metaverse stocks, ask yourself: Am I investing in a dream, or am I enabling a potential dystopia? How you answer that question will shape both your own financial fate and the fate of our society. MarketBeat’s promise to you, regardless of the above, is that you do your own due diligence. Invest wisely and invest ethically. Because the future isn’t something that just happens to us, like an outside force—it’s something we all make together. Let’s be smart about the kind of future we prepare for — in real life and in the metaverse!

Before you invest in metaverse stocks, ask yourself: Am I investing in a dream, or am I enabling a potential dystopia? The answer to that question will determine not only your financial future but also the future of our society. The promise of MarketBeat aside, do your own due diligence. Invest wisely, and invest ethically. The future is not something that happens to us; it's something we create. Let's make sure we create a future worth living in, both in the real world and in the metaverse.