Therapeutic effect of the metaverse on mental health

Abstract

López del Hoyo et al collections reported the meta verse based on the virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence could be used in the therapy of mental health, although there were still some challenges. This manuscript reported that the meta verse is a prospective method to improve the prognosis of mental health problems.

Key Words: Metaverse; Mental health; Virtual reality; Artificial intelligence; Editorial

Core Tip: We cannot fully confirm the specific situation of its future development, nor can we fully predict all the problems that the metaverse may cause. But what we can confirm is that in order to continue to operate and develop in human society, it is necessary to find a proper balance between the reality and the metaverse era.

INTRODUCTION

López del Hoyo et al[1] collections reported the meta verse based on the virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence could be used in the therapy of mental health, although there were still some challenges. This manuscript reported that the meta verse is a prospective method to improve the prognosis of mental health problems.

THE METAVERSE EFFECT ON MENTAL HEALTH: A DOUBLE BLADE SWORD

The therapeutic effect of the meta verse on mental health was mentioned in the manuscript, while what about the mental health problems in the virtual meta verse. Virtual avatars are one of the important elements leading to the metaverse, but the transmission of emotions is difficult to fully achieve through technology. In reality, people can see the facial expressions, body movements of the person they are talking to, while in the metaverse, people can only see the virtual avatar. Most people present negative emotions focus on the dilemma, dangers and security problems brought by artificial intelligence, as well as some panic psychology and realistic value gaps caused by the rapid development of the technology. Human expressions and body movements are important media tools for assisting language transmission of information. The authenticity of virtual avatar expressions and body movements is far inferior to that of real people. At present, the virtual avatar images are relatively rough, and facial expressions are difficult to perfectly replicate through digital technology. Therefore, when individuals communicate with others in the metaverse through virtual avatars, there may be insufficient expression or communication barriers, which can cause cognitive anxiety in humans[2]. However, in the current technology, there are certain differences between the facial expressions of virtual characters and real characters. In this case, it is worth considering whether people will lack the intimacy, closeness, and trust they experience in real social interactions in the metaverse, leading to mental health problems.

Even if the virtual avatar images of real people in the metaverse are becoming more and more realistic due to the development of the technological progress, people's emotions towards virtual avatars may still change from favoritism to extreme disgust, even exclusion and fear[3]. This user experience increases the psychological problems of metaverse users, which is very detrimental to the popularization and application of the meta verse. Most of the security and ethics of technology applications are skeptical, and keywords such as vigilance, horror and privacy are also coming out. The application of algorithms such as big data recommendation and accurate push of social media is seen by many people as a kind of change of direction manipulation over time, and even remained skeptical about personal information, geographic information security, etc.[4].The scenario application of the universe will make people feel passive and uneasy.

CONCLUSION

In summary, the emergence of new technologies may be accompanied by various risks, which are either predictable or completely unpredictable. The rise of the metaverse will inevitably affect the logic of social development and bring many uncertainties. But the existence of risks does not mean that we should deny the development of technology. The right choice is to face its potential impact and take preventive measures. The manuscript provides a potential therapeutic option for cerebral palsy to improve the prognosis. However, multi-slice daylight computed tomography as an effective and safety intervention in mental health problem, however, we cannot fully confirm the specific situation of its future development, nor can we fully predict all the problems that the metaverse may cause. But what we can confirm is that in order to continue to operate and develop in human society, it is necessary to find a proper balance between the reality and the meta verse era.