Is Meta-Porn the Next Sexual Revolution?

Source: Shutterstock, SFIO CRACHO

What Is the Metaverse?

Perhaps you’ve seen people with box-like devices covering their eyes like they’re wearing a 1960s Viewmaster. And maybe you’ve wondered what, exactly, they are doing with these contraptions. Well, they’re exploring the metaverse—an immersive, interactive digital space that allows users to visit (via digital technology) another world. And once they are in that world, they can interact with both static and live content.

Picture an immersive, 3D version of the internet.

For now, the virtual reality (VR) headsets used to access the metaverse are large and somewhat clunky. But rest assured, they’ll get smaller and easier to use. Think about cellular phones. Once giant and unwieldy, our phones are now so light, so small, and so powerful that we take them everywhere and use them for just about everything.

For now, the metaverse itself is rudimentary and not that exciting. But there are individual programs and spaces that are far more advanced, perfectly capable of blocking out the real world and immersing users in a highly realistic place or situation. As more and more of these virtual spaces are developed and made available as part of the metaverse, this new virtual environment will become increasingly appealing. We can likely expect a growth curve similar to what we saw with the internet—from novelty to necessity in the blink of an eye.

What Is Meta-Porn?

Essentially, meta-porn is porn shot with multiple cameras so users can “explore” the experience in three dimensions, putting themselves into a first-person position, glancing around the room, moving closer to the performer, and more. More important, it can be a live, interactive experience with an online performer who can talk to you, reach out to you physically, show you around the room, and take direction.

Because the human brain can adapt to minor inconsistencies and errors, this type of VR experience can feel both natural and exhilarating. Much more so than 2D videos viewed on a flatscreen. It is likely that the immersive, realistic nature of meta-porn will soon make sexting, webcam chatting, and 2D videos next to obsolete.

Is Meta-Porn Driving the Metaverse?

The primary driver of digital technologies is and has always been sex, especially pornography. The first killer apps were not email or rudimentary one-player games, as many would like to believe. In actuality, the Internet took off thanks to AOL chatrooms and online pornography. Sure, we all ordered home internet (with screechy dial-up modems) so we could stay in touch with work, but when our friends phoned us and the line was busy, they assumed we were either chatting with naked people or searching for porn.

Technology has shifted in a relatively short time from text chat rooms and pay-for-porn websites to webcam sex, hookup apps, online sex workers, and endless quantities of (mostly free) porn. The simple truth is that every new technological leap—webcams, smartphones, apps, just to name a few—has been driven, at least in part, by the potential for sexual pleasure. So it’s hardly a stretch to say that when the metaverse hits the mainstream, as it inevitably will, meta-porn will be driving the bus.

Is Meta-Porn “Better” than Regular Porn?

A few years ago, I was featured in a documentary that explored the world of virtual sex. I requested, prior to this experience, that the person at the other end of my VR goggles remain clothed, but I did assent to that person flirting, dancing, and the like. And I can tell you this: That person was as real to me as my best friend. I found myself not merely engaged in the experience but oddly caring about the person delivering it. That is something that I never felt with any two-dimensional experience.

For me, the metaverse was very, very real. Even when I knew it was only virtual.

Is Meta-Porn Concerning?

As a sexologist, I first noticed tech-sex issues in the early 1990s, when home internet first became a thing. Since that time, I’ve seen that with every advance in digital technology, more and more people are challenged with tech-sex behaviors.

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Today, at the very least, the era when porn was the sole purview of adult males is long gone. In fact, sexual imagery can be easily, affordably, and instantly accessed by any person who looks for it. There are no ID checks, no credit cards, no nothing. If you want porn, you can get it.

And if you’re wondering what this ever-expanding pornographic wonderland is doing to marriages and/or young people, you are not alone. Pornography is a bone of contention in countless relationships, mostly because one partner thinks it’s fine and the other thinks it’s cheating. And just try keeping your kids away from porn.

Whatever fears you have (or don’t have), it’s clear that meta-porn is on the rise, and eventually technology could evolve in ways that make meta-sex as common and perhaps even as enjoyable as real-world sex. This could be great for couples separated by distance, who could connect with one another sexually in the metaverse. For others, however, especially individuals who tend toward compulsivity or who already shy away from real-world interactions, meta-porn could be a disaster in the making.