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• W4323348517 abstract "Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social NetworkingVol. 26, No. 3 EditorialFree Access(Mental) Healthcare Consumerism in the Metaverse: Is There a Benefit?Brenda K. WiederholdBrenda K. WiederholdBrenda K. Wiederhold, Editor-in-ChiefSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:6 Mar 2023https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2023.29269.editorialAboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail While global attention has (rightly) been focused on managing COVID-19, another pandemic has been stealthily taking hold: loneliness. According to a recent survey, more than a third of adults (about 2 billion people worldwide) report having feelings of loneliness.1 Although most would agree that loneliness is uncomfortable, its consequences can be more serious than feelings of unpleasantness. Research has shown that people with strong social bonds are 50% less likely to die over a given period of time than those who have few social connections.2 For human beings, social connection is part of what keeps us going. Loneliness is literally a matter of life and death.When it comes to increased loneliness, there are many factors at play—from social distancing and remote work to less walkable cities. Our world is growing ever more virtual, and as it does, our incidental in-person interactions wane. Some hope that the metaverse, with its innumerable ways to connect, will be a panacea for weak social ties. Through technology we will be able to interact like never before with people we would not have met otherwise. Nevertheless, while we often hype technology as the ideal tool for enhancing social relationships, it is a complex tool that is only as good as its application. A recent study, for example, found that people who spend the most time using social media are actually twice as likely to experience social isolation.3 Technology, for all its connective potential, when used without prioritizing human experience and emotional connection, can do as much harm as good.This is why thoughtful and careful development of the metaverse is so essential. In providing more immersive and interactive experiences through the use of rapidly evolving tools such as artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and biosensors, the metaverse promises to be not only a technological defense for loneliness but also a complete sociological paradigm shift. It will, once again, fundamentally change the way humans interact. However, in order to make this shift successful for both producers and consumers alike, designers and creators will need to ensure that the metaverse is built with an eye toward emphasizing the user experience, addressing consumers' emotional and psychological needs to prioritize connection. If not, the metaverse will be poised to repeat the failures of current communication platforms.Gotta Catch ’Em All: How to Reach Consumers in the MetaverseOf course, the metaverse will be of little use without delivering value, both to creators and to consumers. Luckily, corporations and brands already see enormous potential in the impending social and technological shift. Eighty-nine percent of executives surveyed agree that the metaverse will have an important role in their organizations' future growth.4 In fact, they predict 4.2% of their revenues (more than $1 trillion) will come from the metaverse in the next 3 years.It is not just the traditional sale of goods that has execs seeing dollar signs. The metaverse, by offering fully immersive experiences, could help brands to strengthen their relationships with their consumers, driving engagement through enhanced opportunities for interaction and personalization. Even in these early days, a recent report listed virtual product sales via direct-to-avatar transactions as a $54 billion market.5 Businesses clearly have a lot to gain from forging new virtual relationships with their consumers.The metaverse also promises to offer a plethora of benefits for consumers, from more engaging forms of entertainment to fresh fitness, retail, and travel experiences. For creators and developers, it can be easy to get carried away by the sheer possibility of everything that technology can do, but focusing on consumer needs and expectations will be essential to the metaverse's success. Flashy graphics may get a consumer's attention, but most users just want to use the metaverse to make their daily lives easier. They want easy-to-use interfaces (70%) and a wide variety of applications (69%) more than fancy headsets (55%) and personalized avatars (55%).6 Extravagant graphics may get someone to click, but to really form a relationship with a consumer, brands will need to create experiences that meet users' everyday needs. People don't want showy gimmicks, they want to streamline their lives.Patient ConsumersHealthcare consumerism—personal choice and responsibility in managing one's own health—is not a new concept. But with the advent of the metaverse, patients are truly set up to be consumers who have agency when it comes to their mental and physical health. Not only are patients more likely to pay attention to their regular healthcare needs such as annual physicals7 than before the pandemic, but they also more frequently access their care online.When they do look for online healthcare, four in five patients said it is important for their providers to know not only about their physical condition but also about their mental state.7 In addition, patients value convenience above all other factors when they access their care, which has led many to virtual options. This is especially true of those seeking assistance with their mental health, where stigma, scarcity of providers, and high costs can make finding in-person appointments difficult. Nearly half of patients said they'd be more likely to book a mental health appointment using telehealth.Ideally, the metaverse will contribute to helping patients find convenient, personalized online healthcare, incorporating wearables, augmented and virtual reality, and biosensors to enhance the experience, both for clinicians and for their consumer patients. Perhaps the metaverse can also provide the means to strengthen the social ties that are a hallmark of the best healthcare experiences.The metaverse has the potential to improve empathy, spur behavioral change, and improve access to care. Why not use haptic feedback to allow loved ones to hold the hand of a dying family member from miles away? Or use VR so that newly minted grandparents can “be there” at the birth of their grandchild in another country? The possibilities of these technologies, when deployed with the consumer's human experience in mind, are breathtaking.Oversight for OversightsDreaming in this way is heady, and when on the precipice of a completely new virtual world, it is important to be sure our feet remain on the proverbial ground. The metaverse faces the same pitfalls as previous technological innovations and even a few that are new and concerning. But we can learn from history.There are of course issues related to trust and privacy. Especially in the healthcare realm, data privacy and security are of utmost importance. There will need to be oversight as these innovative experiences come into being. It is essential that development does not outpace governance put in place to keep consumers (and their data) safe. Care also needs to be taken to protect vulnerable populations and to bridge the digital divide. We must work to ensure that the opportunities of the metaverse can be seamlessly delivered across populations with a wide range of demographics.Based on criticisms of current social media platforms, there will likely be incidents of misinformation. Even with assistance from ever more advanced artificial intelligence programs, content moderation is labor-intensive and imprecise. As the pool of information only grows, misinformation is a very real concern, especially when it comes to healthcare. Content monitoring and patient education will need to be at the forefront of any virtual healthcare push.That said, these are issues that can be mitigated with proper consideration. All parties (engineers, designers, executives, clinicians, etc.) will have a role to play in developing safe and consumer-friendly healthcare in the metaverse. The challenge becomes how to use this profound reinvention of human–technology–human interaction to generate value for users. In the end, it is about designing the metaverse to empower consumers, not to exploit them.References1. Statista. (2021) How often do you feel lonely? https://www.statista.com/statistics/1222815/loneliness-among-adults-by-country/ (accessed Jan. 31, 2023). Google Scholar2. Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. July 27, 2010. PLOS Med 2010; 7:e1000316. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar3. Primack BA, Shensa A, Sidani JE, et al. Social media use and perceived social isolation among young adults in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2017; 53:1–8. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar4. Curtis M, Treat D, Burke K, et al. (2023) Metaverse: evolution, then revolution. https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/technology/metaverse-internet (accessed Jan. 31, 2023). Google Scholar5. Dwivedi YK, Hughes L, Wang Y, et al. Metaverse marketing: how the metaverse will shape the future of consumer research and practice. Psychology & Marketing 2022; in press. Google Scholar6. Yalowitz K, Lee D, Collins K, et al. (2023) Art of the possible to the art of the tangible. https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/software-platforms/metaverse-that-matters (accessed Feb. 1, 2023). Google Scholar7. CVSHealth. Health Care Insights Study 2022. https://www.cvshealth.com/news/research-reports/health-care-insights-study/health-care-insights-study-2022.html (accessed Jan. 31, 2023). Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 26Issue 3Mar 2023 InformationCopyright 2023, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishersTo cite this article:Brenda K. Wiederhold.(Mental) Healthcare Consumerism in the Metaverse: Is There a Benefit?.Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.Mar 2023.145-146.http://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2023.29269.editorialPublished in Volume: 26 Issue 3: March 6, 2023PDF download" @default.
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