Sociology of [XR] What if... allowing for public spaces to incorporate immersive technology helped to mitigate social anxiety within public places? This is a question that I have been asking form may years and there is research that addresses how people respond mentally to [XR] as a method of reducing stress. Though it is capable of benefitting users who may feel anxious in particular settings. What are the larger implications of allowing technology so close to our eyes and allowing it to enter our physical worlds through [MR]. This being such a new technology, i cant help but question what are the ethics of [XR] as they relate to architectural space making? Ethics: How safe is the metaverse? Meta (formerly known as Face Book) has already had an incident where a female user reported experiencing sexual assault within minutes of entering the “Horizon World” an open platform space where users can rome and interact with one another by waving, high-fiving, talking, and playing games together thought the use of the Meta Quest (formerly known as Oculus Quest 2) HMD. Another user had started to use there hands to group the women’s avatar, while other users watched and even cheered on. This is one example of a participant being virtually violated in the metaverse. However, this isn’t new. in 2018 a 7 year lod girls avatar was playing a game on the platform when male users began to sexual assault the girls avatar. the article form Today There are many different forms of assault , masoning, and discrimination and the metaverse is still privy to them all. As stated in the online article “The metaverse has a groping problem already by Tanya Basuarchive” “I think people should keep in mind that sexual harassment has never had to be a physical thing,” says Jesse Fox, an associate professor at Ohio State University who researches the social implications of virtual reality. “It can be verbal, and yes, it can be a virtual experience as well.” As we have seen with social media Boundries and protections should be established for the users who chose to enter the Metaverse. A digital avatar is a representation of a real person. Social and cultural behaviors don’t stop just because the platform is a digital landscape. Social implications: Entering the space as a moral act by the user. Architects would have the responsibility to the client to design a physical environment that is safe along side the virtual space. Utilizing the codes and ethics of our physical environment will help to ensure understanding and usability of the virtual spaces we design. This includes designing for secure social and ethical responsibility to those who chose to participate for long periods of time within virtual environments. As well as designing for the development of and mental health of the users. There are a wide range of user groups that extended architecture could reach. That means the it is extremely important that designers are cognisant of the health safety and well fair of those who we are designing the space home and digital twin. Children, to senior adults would be engage with this technology. all with varying tolerances and ability. The responsibility of the architect and UX designers would be to effectively enable people of all walks of life the opportunity to engage on a platform without causing illness, discomfort and to reduce fatigue.
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