Abstract
The metaverse fever at the end of 2021 reflects both the development of virtual reality technology and the structures of feeling in the post-pandemic era. Metaverse is a fictional digital utopia in Neal Stephenson's post-cyberpunk novel Snow Crash， which， together with another original concept， “avatar，” has a paradoxical characteristic. Stephenson's cyber imagination deconstructs the cyberpunk dystopian narrative and demonstrates the transformative power of techno-optimism. In the post-pandemic era， the business elite reinterprets this constructive utopian concept as “metaverse” to counter the fear and loneliness in the paradox of “isolation-connection.” Emphasizing the emotional compensation despite physical barriers， the revivalists of metaverse have transformed an escapist utopia of the pre-pandemic era into a reconstructive utopia of the post-pandemic era. However， a utopia created through the lens of fear and loneliness shows the manipulation of human vulnerability. As the feeling economy rises， we should be wary of technological controls over people.
Keywords
metaverse, isolation, social connection, post-pandemic era, emotional compensation
First Page
61
Last Page
69
Recommended Citation
Bi, Weile. 2023. "Isolation vs. Connection： Metaverse from the Perspective of Structure of Feeling in the Post-Pandemic Era." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 43, (1): pp.61-69. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol43/iss1/8
