There has been a lot of talk lately about the metaverse. Especially after Facebook decided to rename the parent company Meta Platforms and declare that its future lay in the metaverse. Investors haven’t been very convinced: Meta’s stock price has fallen sharply over the past month, following the announcement of 2021 results that fell short of market expectations.

The former Facebook executive insists that the metaverse will be one of the company’s main drivers of growth. But what is the metaverse? The technology consulting firm Gartner defines the metaverse as a collective virtual open space, created by the convergence of physical reality and digitally enhanced virtual reality. It is physically persistent and provides enhanced immersive experiences. It requires multiple technologies and trends to function, including augmented reality (AR), flexible work styles, head-mounted displays (HMDs, such as the Oculus), the Internet of Things, 5G, and artificial intelligence.

“The metaverse will allow people to replicate or enhance their physical activities. This could happen by transferring or extending physical activities into a virtual world or by transforming the physical world,” says Marty Resnick, vice president of research at Gartner. “Although the goal of a metaverse is to combine many of these activities, there are currently many individual metaverses with limited functionality.”

Gartner projects that by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse, whether to work, shop, learn, interact on social media, or have fun. However, it notes that adoption of the metaverse is still in its early stages.

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