The Lost Communities vs Metaverse

Abstrak

Due the prolonged pandemic, most of us are forced to limit our interactions with other people. For some people, this condition is conducive for work, but for some others isn’t. People who got used to regular meetings with their communities, such as choirs, bands, basketball team, etc. rather would get over it or miss it badly. According to a research from Boston University published in medical journal The Lancet Regional Health, depression rates tripled over the course of the first year of the pandemic. During the pre-pandemic, about 8% of U.S. adults experienced depression. However, in a survey of 1,161 people taken between March and April of 2020, that statistic jumped to 28%. Then, when researchers surveyed the same people a year after that, they saw a jump to 32% (CNBC, 2021). Normally, depression rates rise at the beginning of a traumatic event but depletes over time, but not in this case. We do not have any clue how or, to be exact, when will this pandemic end. The uncertainty consumes our mind and body and makes us wonder if this going to last forever.

As we know, one of humans’ needs is the feeling of being connected with others. This need unfortunately cannot be compensated effectively by the situation of pandemic. Maybe some people can still meet their friends or lovers even during this pandemic, however, the connection with community seems like forgotten nowadays. What makes it worse is the fact that people are now getting comfortable of being out of any communities. Based on a survey that the author conducted in December 2021 in his English classes, 92% of the students agreed that they felt comfortable with the online learning. However, when the author asked whether they miss their extracurricular activities, 80 % of them agreed. These data imply that most of the students in STARKI miss being around their communities, however, they are reluctant to have the old daily routines to the school. A question is then arisen, how do they compensate their needs to be connected? The answer is predictable; the internet.