Back then, life was a bit challenging, especially in terms of dating because asking someone out in person is not everybody’s cup of tea, then and even now. About 25 years ago, entrepreneurs Gary Kremen and Peng T. Ong decided to come up with a solution and launched the first dating site in the form of Match.com. Since then, the online dating world has evolved dramatically, as it changed the course of dating and brought everything on our plate within one click.
We enjoyed the online dating phase on websites, going ahead with time, several marriage sites launched to help people find the right partner and then the app culture arrived, which turned out to be a milestone in the dating universe. We were swapping right-left all the time, and then the COVID-19 pandemic swapped right on us. So, dating companies started figuring out a solution to help singles and this time, they came up with something unbelievable.
Imagine you’re sleeping on a couch while your TV is on, and your dog is wagging his tail near you because your phone is vibrating. Suddenly, you woke up from a nap only to realize you’ve promised someone a date. Now, she’s already there, waiting for you, and you’re still in your shorts, thinking about a reason to convince her. Well, in real life, this kinda situation might lead to a quick argument, but when the metaverse dating arrives, you will endure the situation. Let me tell you how?
But first understand, what is Metaverse?
You’ve probably heard a lot about the metaverse already, but most of us didn’t care to know what it is actually? The term metaverse first occurred in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. In simple language, the metaverse is a shared digital reality where users can connect to each other, build economies and interact in real-time. It’s the future of the internet, where anything can be done, but it remains to be seen like AI and blockchain.
All the top companies worldwide are investing tons of money in the metaverse, from Facebook to Nike, everyone wants to be a part of it. If you ask about dating companies, tinder’s parent company Match Group is already working on building a dating metaverse. For now, I’ll suggest, don’t dive deep to learn more about the metaverse because it’s way too complex, and the term doesn’t refer to any specific type of technology.
What will dating be like in the Metaverse?
I hope you’ve visualized yourself in the above scenario where the guy in shorts is thinking about what to say to his date? You might suggest convincing her with truth or perhaps with a lie. Now, I’ll tell you how metaverse dating will help you duck a similar situation? First and foremost, such concerns will not even occur in metaverse dating because here, you’re a 3D avatar, and to activate it, you only have to wear the necessary Virtual Reality (VR) gear.
You don’t have to leave your couch, you don’t have to drop your dog at your friend’s apartment, and you don’t even have to take a shower because you’re going on a date in metaverse where none of these things matter. Your metadate will look like this: You both have to wear VR headsets to track eye movements and facial expressions. Besides VR gear, both of you will have to wear haptic gloves, a wearable device that mimics tactile sensations of virtual objects.
You can decide any place that exists in the metaverse to meet each other. Now, imagine you’re waiting for your date in an outdoor cafe, and then a date tracker notifies you that your date is about to reach. You put your headphones on to avoid anxiousness, but you’re having a hard time focusing. And then you look up and see a beautiful girl in a skirt with a button-up shirt walking towards you. She has what we call a perfectly toned figure and eyes like pearls that shine like stars. She waves at you and joins you for an ice-cream date. You both are having a good time, and then the waiter shows up with a bill. You’re about to pay, and then your subconscious warns you, “Split it bro! She might like it if you allow her to pay her part” And “What if she didn’t like the gesture?” says the other one.
Finally, you prefer to wait, and she puts her hand on yours, of course through the haptic gloves (don’t worry, you’ll get the same feelings) and says, “Let’s split it for now”, and then both of you pay your share of the bill with tinder/bumble coins. While walking her out, you plan to ask her for another date, this time – a real one, but again your subconscious stops you by saying, “Don’t rush the things, wait for her message and what if she’s not this captivating in real life?”, and you drop the idea.
The benefits of dating in the Metaverse
What do we do while preparing for a first date? We think, we think a lot and then overthinking kills us; sometimes, it even adds pimples to make it worse. We usually look for a nice outfit, we make sure that we’re behaving well, we rehearse all the table manners, and many more things. While in metaverse dating, you don’t have to follow these old-school rules. In meta dating, you set your own rules, you choose your looks. Basically, you have a right to do whatever you want!
When meta dating will come into our lives, please don’t overdo anything. Choose your avatars carefully, and try to create an avatar that really matches your persona. Otherwise, you might end up dealing with rejection on your actual date with that special someone. Metaverse dating is beneficial for every one of us as it will allow us to meet our date in a virtual world where you can get an unbelievable amount of information about how your date feels about you without them saying a word.
Did you know?
On 5th Feb, a Bhopal-based couple, Abhijeet Goel, a tech entrepreneur and Dr Sansrati Jain, a pedodontist, tied a wedding knot and became the first couple in India to marry in the 3D Metaverse. The couple created a scenic beachside environment to host their wedding, where the guests also joined in via their digital avatars. The virtual wedding took place on Yug Metaverse, an Indian company that creates a metaverse for marriages, virtual events, exhibitions, business meetings, and conferences. The wedding was associated with two media agency brands, Wavemaker India for ITC Ltd. and Matrimony.com. Who conceptualised, organised and executed the wedding.
