The idea of a virtual world existing in parallel to the real one was once the stuff of science fiction. But today, millions of people are already spending hours a day in virtual spaces and spending billions of dollars on things that simply don’t exist in a physical environment. What was once a controversial idea among tech enthusiasts came crashing into the mainstream in October 2021, when Facebook changed its name to Meta and rebranded itself as a “metaverse company”. Now, the company and others like it are betting big that we will all be spending more and more time in the metaverse – doing everything from socialising and playing games with friends, to exercising and working remotely. On this week's <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/podcasts/beyond-the-headlines/" target="_blank">Beyond The Headlines</a>, host Arthur Scott-Geddes asks: what is the metaverse and is it really about to change the world?
