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By Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho
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It comes as no surprise that with the development and growing acceptance of the metaverse, people have been exploring dating in virtual reality. With VR dating services like Nevermet, Flirtual, Lonely Hearts Dating Agency and Single Town, we now have a variety of platforms we can log into to find that special someone, and all we need is a VR headset to access this vast array of possibilities.
The online dating market was valued at $12.37 billion in 2021, and is expected to be worth $28.36 billion in 2027, according to ReportLinker. A JP Morgan report also states that the metaverse is a $1 trillion revenue opportunity. So it seems only natural that the market is seeing the growth of companies that tie both things together.
The idea of virtual dating is nothing novel, as people have been using online forums, chat rooms, apps and even gaming platforms to create connections with others, but the metaverse has come to disrupt the limitations of these existing methods.
The disruptive nature of metaverse dating services stems from the fact that people can now set up dates within a virtual space, and connect through VR sets. It's as if the metaverse has added a new layer of realism to online dating.
According to a report titled "Connecting in the Metaverse: A Talkdesk Survey," 49 percent of the people surveyed believed that the metaverse will result in connections due to uncertainties in the physical world. Such reasons account for 44 percent of the people who consider dating in the metaverse.
When diving into the various options of VR dating services out there at the moment, it becomes clear that they all market themselves with specific proposals. As we know, the experience one has in the metaverse is determined by the platform the individual decides to use to access virtual reality. But the common choice by many of these pioneering dating services ― like Nevermet and Flirtual ― seems to be to use a familiar profile interface but with the catch that instead of photos, user profiles display their avatars.
This use of avatars to present oneself inside a dating platform portrays a core value that revolves around the idea of VR dating, which is to create a platform where physical attraction no longer plays the central role to match individuals, betting on the goal to have people create a deeper connection from the get-go.
In this sense, the metaverse creates a different and new set of parameters for human interaction. Through virtual reality, it is possible to remove most of the familiar environment of real-life interaction and substitute it with infinite new possibilities to explore. People are able to have their first dates in just about any space in a virtual reality platform, allowing them to create their appearances through avatars that can be completely customized.
Just as is seen in metaverse workspaces, dating in the metaverse may present certain limitations and at the phase we find ourselves in regarding VR technology, connections may fail and avatars may not be as realistic as we wish they could be, and the hardware in itself is still lacking a lot when it comes to comfort for prolonged use. The truth is, VR dating is still far from the media references we may have, such as the virtual reality portrayed in the "San Junipero" episode of "Black Mirror."
The major intention, however, is still to find a connection with someone and meet them in real life, as dating in the metaverse will never replace the real deal. Virtual interactions, as much as they try to emulate reality, are unable to substitute for real-life interaction. We, as human beings, have a need for physical interaction.
It is interesting to point out, however, that some VR users share that they have experienced what has been called "phantom touch," a sense of feeling physical touch when their virtual avatars are touched. Although exciting, this phenomenon of experiencing real feelings from hardware without any haptic feedback raises certain health concerns, since it may blur the lines of the virtual and real world and, consequently, age-old issues like abusive or predatory behaviors may become a serious issue that will require solutions adequate for virtual space.
Although VR may not replace real-life interactions and bonding, for some people it is a form of accessing a wider world that may be more difficult to reach without such technology. Dating within the metaverse may break distance boundaries, as anyone with a VR set and an internet connection may access virtual realities for the purpose of meeting that special someone. In the same sense, VR dating may be a form for people to explore their sexuality or gender identity, or serve as a safer space for people with social difficulties to reach out and connect with others.
Dating in the metaverse aims to facilitate connections between people through innovation and hopefully create lasting real-life relationships. Virtual reality adds a very exciting new layer to social interaction, but at the current stage, there's no such thing as being too careful, since innovation brings with itself new sets of concerns. Hopefully, however, we are taking the right steps to break even further with the conventional ideas of dating.
Chyung Eun-ju (ejchyung@snu.ac.kr) is studying for a master's degree in marketing at Seoul National University. Her research focuses on digital assets and the metaverse. Joel Cho (joelywcho@gmail.com) is a practicing lawyer specializing in IP and digital law.
