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New Forms of Shaming and Bullying in the Metaverse
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New Forms of Shaming and Bullying in the Metaverse

Ma’ariv, Israel, February 10

Cyberbullying isn’t a new phenomenon in any way, but as technology continues to change and unfold, so do the ways in which online harassment is committed. After all, cyberspace is an environment without any time and space boundaries. And it has unique characteristics: availability, accessibility, immediacy, speed of distribution and enormous audiences. All of these features make it a fertile breeding ground for both good and evil. We are witnessing more and more cases of cyberbullying that take many forms: surveillance, harassment, defamation, agitation, impersonation, outing, exclusion, fraud and deception. Victims of these crimes report severe feelings that can accompany the affected individuals for long periods of time. Another difficult phenomenon is the phenomenon of shaming: the public humiliation of individuals on social media platforms. I met a teacher whose students recorded her class on Zoom and then edited and manipulated the video. The editing and digital additions made the teacher the object of ridicule and the video spread virally. I won’t forget the look on that teacher’s face when she described the event. For the students, it was a foolish joke. For her, it was a traumatizing experience that made her want to quit teaching. In the new meta-world, a future digital universe is developing, a kind of new three-dimensional space that doesn’t correspond to the real space, but becomes part of it. This emerging universe will forever change our interpersonal social interactions. New opportunities will be created to strengthen our networks by expanding our social circles, allowing us to come up with new ways to spend our time and find new hobbies, and foster cross-border collaboration and communication. But on the flip side, the metaverse will introduce new forms of shame, racism, bigotry and hatred. Today the metaverse still isn’t mature enough. But the largest technology companies are directing all of their resources in that direction. In such a digital universe, new and intriguing network norms will be created – and it is our duty to start shaping the rules and policies that will govern those virtual interactions. – Limor Harari (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)

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