Metaverse Dilemma

The Gartner Hype Cycle describes the typical trajectory of emerging technologies and predicts that, after the Peak of Inflated Expectations, when interest and excitement for a technology are at their highest levels, a phase of disillusionment will follow, when expectations are not met and interest in the technology decreases. The technologies related to the Metaverse are, as of the publication date of this call, at the point where they are ready to roll down. AltspaceVR, the social virtual reality platform, founded in 2013 and acquired by Microsoft in 2017, will close in March 2023 with the consequent layoff of the entire development team. Meta, the US company previously known as Facebook, and which assumed its current name in October 2021 as an act of faith in a new 3D social platform, has already lost 40% of its initial investment. These are just two of the wake-up call that have appeared around the metaverse ecosystem. In relation to the Hype Cycle, the prospects for the Metaverse are therefore uncertain and depend on various factors, including technology adoption, investment and ethical concerns. In this operating framework, the current critical debate about the Metaverse as a new cultural, expressive, and existential horizon highlights all of the ambitions and concerns that this technology and its developers have for the future. This issue of the journal focused on the Metaverse aims to offer a broader and different perspective on the topic. The dilemma mentioned in the title is intended to relate different theoretical visions, research experiences and approaches to scientific inquiry that are united by a rejection of the uncritical acceptance of the new technological frontier. Rather than recognizing this frontier as something that can only be "suffered," the authors are invited, from their own specific field of expertise, to offer their own contribution to understanding its opportunities, but also its limitations. What are the application areas where Metaverse will most clearly demonstrate its effectiveness? Which areas will be completely disrupted by the new arrangement that appears to be announcing itself and is being trumpeted so loudly? And, on the other hand, how will the expectations of the moment's enthusiasm be dispelled? This call is addressed to all scholars who intend to submit papers concerning the forthcoming massive dissemination of the Metaverse and its imagery.