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Metaverse
Collective three-dimensional virtual shared space / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The metaverse is a loosely defined term referring to virtual worlds in which users represented by avatars interact,[1] usually in 3D and focused on social and economic connection.[2][3][4][5]
![A screenshot of Second Life with people-like models sitting outside on couches around a coffee table. The person second from the right is in a red character suit. In the background in the distance, behind matchstick-shaped trees, are four towers. One tower is glowing with energy, and the tower on the far right is actually a giant space suit. Being a video game from the 2000s, the graphical fidelity is low, lacking shadows, ambient occlusion, and complex materials.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Second_Life_11th_Birthday_Live_Drax_Files_Radio_Hour.jpg/640px-Second_Life_11th_Birthday_Live_Drax_Files_Radio_Hour.jpg)
The term metaverse originated in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash as a portmanteau of "meta" and "universe".[6][7] In Snow Crash, the metaverse is envisioned as a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal, and immersive virtual world that is facilitated by the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets.[8][2]
The term "metaverse" is often linked to virtual reality technology,[9][10] and beginning in the early 2020s, with Web3.[11][12] The term has been used as a buzzword by companies[8][13] to exaggerate the development progress of various related technologies and projects for public relations purposes.[14] Information privacy, user addiction, and user safety are concerns within the metaverse, stemming from challenges facing the social media and video game industries as a whole.[8][15][16]