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How can you acquire power so that you can change the world around you? Power can be acquired by being someone people look up to and have people take you seriously and not take advantage of you. having people take you seriously can lead to people listening to your statements.

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How can you acquire power so that you can change the world around you? Power can be acquired by being someone people look up to and have people take you seriously and not take advantage of you. having people take you seriously can lead to people listening to your statements.

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people who have the power around me. the people that have the power are mostly adults and they are figures that people can look up to. parents, deans, and police officers have the power around because they are older and much wiser. 

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people who have the power around me. the people that have the power are mostly adults and they are figures that people can look up to. parents, deans, and police officers have the power around because they are older and much wiser. 

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community fund of Darien is a local group that wants to help the community as a whole by making sure the citizens of Darien get to have the opportunity to reach their full potential as healthy, educated, and self-sufficient individuals.

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community fund of Darien is a local group that wants to help the community as a whole by making sure the citizens of Darien get to have the opportunity to reach their full potential as healthy, educated, and self-sufficient individuals.

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Darien Cooks!

A Taste of Community cookbook, a treasury of recipes to feed the soul, local families, and our community, is now available for purchase at Barrett Bookstore, The Darien Toy Box, The Darien YMCA, Grieb's Pharmacy, Palmer's Market, and SipStirs as well as online.

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A Taste of Community cookbook, a treasury of recipes to feed the soul, local families, and our community, is now available for purchase at Barrett Bookstore, The Darien Toy Box, The Darien YMCA, Grieb's Pharmacy, Palmer's Market, and SipStirs as well as online.

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the elements of culture that impact my life the most is my race/ethnicity. This impacts my life the most because of the standards people set for me just because of my race. people treat me different because of the color of my skin, also the way i act and do things.

# data[].attributes.subject
the elements of culture that impact my life the most is my race/ethnicity. This impacts my life the most because of the standards people set for me just because of my race. people treat me different because of the color of my skin, also the way i act and do things.

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aspects of my culture i enjoy are the foods, music, technology and art that is part of my culture. i enjoy technology because it keeps my mind off problems i have in the world so i distract myself and enjoy having fun. Same with music, it keeps me calm so i can relax. i enjoy art because i like to make it and its just a way to express my feelings.

# data[].attributes.subject
aspects of my culture i enjoy are the foods, music, technology and art that is part of my culture. i enjoy technology because it keeps my mind off problems i have in the world so i distract myself and enjoy having fun. Same with music, it keeps me calm so i can relax. i enjoy art because i like to make it and its just a way to express my feelings.

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i would like to change how the people in my culture react to things. The new generation is much more different because we have so many more opportunities than the other generations had and that is what makes us pampered. That is what effects our reactions on things like racism or other world things.

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i would like to change how the people in my culture react to things. The new generation is much more different because we have so many more opportunities than the other generations had and that is what makes us pampered. That is what effects our reactions on things like racism or other world things.

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we are culturally different because how many of us use the internet by using it we learn so many things and we become smarter because we can find out more things by the click of a button.   

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we are culturally different because how many of us use the internet by using it we learn so many things and we become smarter because we can find out more things by the click of a button.   

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technology helps people with faster pace learning and with technology it makes learning more fun, but saying this with us spending so much time on the internet it can demolish our social skills.

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technology helps people with faster pace learning and with technology it makes learning more fun, but saying this with us spending so much time on the internet it can demolish our social skills.

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some positives and negatives about technology

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Children these days aren't referred to as "digital natives" without reason. In fact, a report from Common Sense Media revealed that, in 2017, 42% of young children had their very own tablet-up from 7% in 2013 and less than 1% in 2011. At the same time, the average amount of time children spend with these handheld devices each day is skyrocketing, from 5 minutes a day in 2011, to 15 minutes a day in 2013, to 48 minutes a day in 2017.

It's no secret that technology has become an integral component of daily life. In particular, it's become rare to see children and teens without a digital device in hand wherever we go: restaurants, waiting rooms, parks and more.

However, the rapid pace by which toddlers, children, and teens are adopting technology into their daily lives has many questioning the effects it can have on their development. Although the negative impacts of technology frequently hit the news and are popular topics of conversation, technology is also being used more and more in educational settings, like the classroom. This leaves many of us wondering: is technology all bad?

Here are a few positive and negative effects technology can have on children to consider:

Positive:

Enhances Learning

Over the past few years, technology has become integrated into the classroom to enhance the learning experience for children. Technologies such as Smartboards, document cameras, Apple TVs, and even 3D printers are now incorporated into educational lessons to boost collaboration and engage students in the learning process. With increased collaboration in the classroom, teachers and students have increased creativity and project-based learning opportunities that make academic instruction more meaningful.

In addition, at-home educational technologies have assisted toddler-aged children in learning numbers, letters, colors, and other foundational skills before they enter formal schooling. Mobile device apps like Avokiddo ABC Ride, Moose Math, and Metamorphabet have been recommended by parents to introduce math, the alphabet, and even the arts before kids enter school!

Fosters Problem-Solving Skills

Have you ever heard of the term "survival mode?" It's a gameplay function in many kids' video games where the player is tasked with staying alive as long as possible to outlast opponents. For example, in the popular video game Minecraft, players are dropped into new and different environments and must immediately build shelter and collect items like food, in order to survive and outlive their opponents. Not to mention, an entire day in Minecraft lasts just 10 minutes, so players must make good decisions quickly.

With these types of technologies, kids must work independently to achieve a specific goal. In the process, they're posed with different types of roadblocks and challenges, which they must learn to navigate and overcome. In turn, they'll be encouraged to come up with their own problem-solving solutions when facing real-life issues such as homework trouble, disagreements with friends, or personal hardship, as well as technology-based obstacles.

Develops Future Technological Leaders

It's common knowledge that our future lies in many of today's emerging technologies. In the years to come, technical skills will be more important in the workplace, as well as the growing impact it'll have on day-to-day life. One of the greatest benefits of exposing kids to technology is the fact that they'll be well-prepared to jump into a pool of available, high-paying tech jobs.

With large tech companies like Amazon consistently adding hundreds of new jobs around the country, introducing technology skills to children at an early age can prepare them for a career with a positive outlook. Tech jobs are here today. Tech jobs will be here tomorrow. Some of today's tech will be tomorrow's tech, and some of tomorrow's tech will be completely brand new and something our world has never seen before. Who's going to be best equipped to fill those positions? The ones who start learning now.

Negative:

Diminishes Relationships and Social Skills

As children use mobile devices more and more, they're more apt to be virtually connected with family and friends, rather than spending time together physically; they're more likely to text, chat on social media, or connect through online gaming than actually meeting them in person.

As Lisa Rai Mabry-Price, the associate director of school services from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), told The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Social communication skills are also in jeopardy due to tech overuse. These skills are developed and honed through daily interaction and include knowing how to take turns during a conversation, using facial expressions, changing the way you speak based on the listener-such as how you talk to a baby versus an adult-and making appropriate eye contact. Such personal interactions are limited as children passively view a screen."

Stimulates Health Issues

The overuse of mobile devices can be harmful to children's health, as the more they use mobile devices, the less physical activities they do. In addition, when children choose to play on their devices over physical activity, they often couple their activity with mindless snacking and other unhealthy habits.

As children spend more time in front of those screens-most of the time on the couch-the less time they spend outside playing, running, and burning off calories. Over time, those habits can lead to significant weight gain and other associated health problems.

Reduces Sleep Quality

A study from JAMA Pediatrics found that children and adolescents who use media before bed were two times more likely to not get enough sleep at night. Even further, having access to a media device in their sleeping environment, even if the device was not being actively used near bedtime, was also associated with an inadequate amount of sleep.

Children under the age of 13 typically require 11-14 hours of sleep, depending on their age. Sleep is immensely important for children, as it promotes growth, helps heart health, affects weight, increases attention span, and even boosts learning. However, when children don't get the proper amount of sleep each night, these ever-important qualities can suffer.

Like many of the things children love, like pizza or candy, technology can be great-but only in moderation. The problems associated with technology come with misuse and lack of attention around how much technology is "too much." Be sure to regulate and limit your children's technology use, and they'll be able to reap its positive effects!

Author Bio: Marie Johnson is a contributor to Enlightened Digital, UX Designer and technology writer from New York City. If she's not writing her latest blog post in her kitchen, you'll likely find her strolling through Central Park, cappuccino in hand.

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The positive and negative effects of technology on children

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Children these days aren't referred to as "digital natives" without reason. In fact, a report from Common Sense Media revealed that, in 2017, 42% of young children had their very own tablet-up from 7% in 2013 and less than 1% in 2011.

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this link tells you how technology has an impact on our learning experience, by it being more advanced and more interactive. 

# data[].attributes.subject
this link tells you how technology has an impact on our learning experience, by it being more advanced and more interactive. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Children these days aren't referred to as "digital natives" without reason. In fact, a report from Common Sense Media revealed that, in 2017, 42% of young children had their very own tablet-up from 7% in 2013 and less than 1% in 2011. At the same time, the average amount of time children spend with these handheld devices each day is skyrocketing, from 5 minutes a day in 2011, to 15 minutes a day in 2013, to 48 minutes a day in 2017.

It's no secret that technology has become an integral component of daily life. In particular, it's become rare to see children and teens without a digital device in hand wherever we go: restaurants, waiting rooms, parks and more.

However, the rapid pace by which toddlers, children, and teens are adopting technology into their daily lives has many questioning the effects it can have on their development. Although the negative impacts of technology frequently hit the news and are popular topics of conversation, technology is also being used more and more in educational settings, like the classroom. This leaves many of us wondering: is technology all bad?

Here are a few positive and negative effects technology can have on children to consider:

Positive:

Enhances Learning

Over the past few years, technology has become integrated into the classroom to enhance the learning experience for children. Technologies such as Smartboards, document cameras, Apple TVs, and even 3D printers are now incorporated into educational lessons to boost collaboration and engage students in the learning process. With increased collaboration in the classroom, teachers and students have increased creativity and project-based learning opportunities that make academic instruction more meaningful.

In addition, at-home educational technologies have assisted toddler-aged children in learning numbers, letters, colors, and other foundational skills before they enter formal schooling. Mobile device apps like Avokiddo ABC Ride, Moose Math, and Metamorphabet have been recommended by parents to introduce math, the alphabet, and even the arts before kids enter school!

Fosters Problem-Solving Skills

Have you ever heard of the term "survival mode?" It's a gameplay function in many kids' video games where the player is tasked with staying alive as long as possible to outlast opponents. For example, in the popular video game Minecraft, players are dropped into new and different environments and must immediately build shelter and collect items like food, in order to survive and outlive their opponents. Not to mention, an entire day in Minecraft lasts just 10 minutes, so players must make good decisions quickly.

With these types of technologies, kids must work independently to achieve a specific goal. In the process, they're posed with different types of roadblocks and challenges, which they must learn to navigate and overcome. In turn, they'll be encouraged to come up with their own problem-solving solutions when facing real-life issues such as homework trouble, disagreements with friends, or personal hardship, as well as technology-based obstacles.

Develops Future Technological Leaders

It's common knowledge that our future lies in many of today's emerging technologies. In the years to come, technical skills will be more important in the workplace, as well as the growing impact it'll have on day-to-day life. One of the greatest benefits of exposing kids to technology is the fact that they'll be well-prepared to jump into a pool of available, high-paying tech jobs.

With large tech companies like Amazon consistently adding hundreds of new jobs around the country, introducing technology skills to children at an early age can prepare them for a career with a positive outlook. Tech jobs are here today. Tech jobs will be here tomorrow. Some of today's tech will be tomorrow's tech, and some of tomorrow's tech will be completely brand new and something our world has never seen before. Who's going to be best equipped to fill those positions? The ones who start learning now.

Negative:

Diminishes Relationships and Social Skills

As children use mobile devices more and more, they're more apt to be virtually connected with family and friends, rather than spending time together physically; they're more likely to text, chat on social media, or connect through online gaming than actually meeting them in person.

As Lisa Rai Mabry-Price, the associate director of school services from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), told The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Social communication skills are also in jeopardy due to tech overuse. These skills are developed and honed through daily interaction and include knowing how to take turns during a conversation, using facial expressions, changing the way you speak based on the listener-such as how you talk to a baby versus an adult-and making appropriate eye contact. Such personal interactions are limited as children passively view a screen."

Stimulates Health Issues

The overuse of mobile devices can be harmful to children's health, as the more they use mobile devices, the less physical activities they do. In addition, when children choose to play on their devices over physical activity, they often couple their activity with mindless snacking and other unhealthy habits.

As children spend more time in front of those screens-most of the time on the couch-the less time they spend outside playing, running, and burning off calories. Over time, those habits can lead to significant weight gain and other associated health problems.

Reduces Sleep Quality

A study from JAMA Pediatrics found that children and adolescents who use media before bed were two times more likely to not get enough sleep at night. Even further, having access to a media device in their sleeping environment, even if the device was not being actively used near bedtime, was also associated with an inadequate amount of sleep.

Children under the age of 13 typically require 11-14 hours of sleep, depending on their age. Sleep is immensely important for children, as it promotes growth, helps heart health, affects weight, increases attention span, and even boosts learning. However, when children don't get the proper amount of sleep each night, these ever-important qualities can suffer.

Like many of the things children love, like pizza or candy, technology can be great-but only in moderation. The problems associated with technology come with misuse and lack of attention around how much technology is "too much." Be sure to regulate and limit your children's technology use, and they'll be able to reap its positive effects!

Author Bio: Marie Johnson is a contributor to Enlightened Digital, UX Designer and technology writer from New York City. If she's not writing her latest blog post in her kitchen, you'll likely find her strolling through Central Park, cappuccino in hand.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The positive and negative effects of technology on children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Children these days aren't referred to as "digital natives" without reason. In fact, a report from Common Sense Media revealed that, in 2017, 42% of young children had their very own tablet-up from 7% in 2013 and less than 1% in 2011.

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The role of big tech companies is to get us to buy their product so they can make money. they also use different things to spy on other companies so that they can have more ideas in the future to make more money.

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The role of big tech companies is to get us to buy their product so they can make money. they also use different things to spy on other companies so that they can have more ideas in the future to make more money.

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The metaverse can shape the future world by making everything digital and making things more expensive 

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The metaverse can shape the future world by making everything digital and making things more expensive 

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Everything you never wanted to know about the future of talking about the future.

To hear tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg or Satya Nadella talk about it, the metaverse is the future of the internet. Or it's a video game. Or maybe it's a deeply uncomfortable, worse version of Zoom? It's hard to say.

It's been a year and a half since Facebook announced it was rebranding to Meta and would focus its future on the upcoming "metaverse." In the time since, the term itself has eroded into near meaninglessness. Meta is building a VR social platform, Roblox is facilitating user-generated video games, and some companies are offering up little more than broken game worlds that happen to have NFTs attached.

Advocates from niche startups to tech giants have argued that this lack of coherence is because the metaverse is still being built, and it's too new to define what it means. The internet existed in the 1970s, for example, but not every idea of what that would eventually look like was true.

On the other hand, while the big tech money has started moving into generative AI, a lot of marketing hype (and money) has already been wrapped up in selling the idea of "the metaverse." Facebook, in particular, is in an especially vulnerable place after Apple's move to limit ad tracking hit the company's bottom line. It's impossible to separate Facebook's vision of a future in which everyone has a digital wardrobe to swipe through from the fact that Facebook really wants to make money selling virtual clothes. But Facebook isn't the only company that stands to financially benefit from metaverse hype.

So, with all that in mind ...

Seriously, What Does "Metaverse" Mean?

To help you get a sense of how vague the term "the metaverse" can be, here's an exercise: Mentally replace the phrase "the metaverse" in a sentence with "cyberspace." Ninety percent of the time, the meaning won't substantially change. That's because the term doesn't really refer to any one specific type of technology, but rather a broad (and often speculative) shift in how we interact with technology. And it's entirely possible that the term itself will eventually become just as antiquated, even as the specific technology it once described becomes commonplace.

Broadly speaking, the technologies companies refer to when they talk about "the metaverse" can include virtual reality-characterized by persistent virtual worlds that continue to exist even when you're not playing-as well as augmented reality that combines aspects of the digital and physical worlds. However, it doesn't require that those spaces be exclusively accessed via VR or AR. Virtual worlds-such as aspects of Fortnite that can be accessed through PCs, game consoles, and even phones-have started referring to themselves as "the metaverse."

Many companies that have hopped on board the metaverse bandwagon also envision some sort of new digital economy, where users can create, buy, and sell goods. In the more idealistic visions of the metaverse, it's interoperable, allowing you to take virtual items like clothes or cars from one platform to another, though this is harder than it sounds. While some advocates claim new technologies like NFTs can enable portable digital assets, this simply isn't true, and bringing items from one video game or virtual world to another is an enormously complex task that no one company can solve.

It's difficult to parse what all this means because when you hear descriptions like those above, an understandable response is, "Wait, doesn't that exist already?" World of Warcraft, for example, is a persistent virtual world where players can buy and sell goods. Fortnite has virtual experiences like concerts and an exhibit where Rick Sanchez can learn about MLK Jr. You can strap on an Oculus headset and be in your own personal virtual home. Is that really what "the metaverse" means? Just some new kinds of video games?

Well, yes and no. Saying that Fortnite is "the metaverse" would be a bit like saying Google is "the internet." Even if you spend large chunks of time in Fortnite, socializing, buying things, learning, and playing games, that doesn't necessarily mean it encompasses the entire scope of what people and companies mean when they say "the metaverse." Just as Google, which builds parts of the internet-from physical data centers to security layers -isn't the entire internet.

Tech giants like Microsoft and Meta are working on building tech related to interacting with virtual worlds, but they're not the only ones. Many other large companies, including Nvidia, Unity, Roblox, and even Snap-as well as a variety of smaller companies and startups-are building the infrastructure to create better virtual worlds that more closely mimic our physical life.

For example, Epic has acquired a number of companies that help create or distribute digital assets, in part to bolster its powerful Unreal Engine 5 platform. And while Unreal may be a video game platform, it's also being used in the film industry and could make it easier for anyone to create virtual experiences. There are tangible and exciting developments in the realm of building digital worlds.

Despite this, the idea of a Ready Player One-like single unified place called " the metaverse" is still largely impossible. That is in part because such a world requires companies to cooperate in a way that simply isn't profitable or desirable- Fortnite doesn't have much motivation to give players a portal to jump straight over to World of Warcraft, even if it were easy to do so, for example-and partially because the raw computing power needed for such a concept could be much further away than we think.

This inconvenient fact has given rise to slightly different terminology. Now many companies or advocates instead refer to any single game or platform as " a metaverse." By this definition, anything from a VR concert app to a video game would count as a "metaverse." Some take it further, calling the collection of various metaverses a " multiverse of metaverses." Or maybe we're living in a " hybrid-verse."

Or these words can mean anything at all. Coca-Cola launched a " flavor born in the metaverse" alongside a Fortnite tie-in mini-game. There are no rules.

It's at this point that most discussions of what the metaverse entails start to stall. We have a vague sense of what things currently exist that we could kind of call the metaverse if we massage the definition of words the right way. And we know which companies are investing in the idea, but there's nothing approaching agreement on what it is. Meta thinks it will include fake houses you can invite all your friends to hang out in. Microsoft seems to think it could involve virtual meeting rooms to train new hires or chat with your remote coworkers.

Notably, Apple has thrown its hat into the ring of augmented reality computing, but without ever once saying the word "metaverse." The company's new Vision Pro headset is pitched as a "spatial computing" platform, working similar to how you might expect a Mac or iPad to work, except with AR-powered apps. Its key distinguishing factor is a screen that can be adjusted to make the real world visible with apps visible as an overlay. While it remains to be seen whether this kind of interface will catch on, Apple is explicitly distancing itself from the kind of rhetoric that aligns with *Ready Player One-*style immersion in a virtual world.

This stands in relatively grounded contrast with other companies' visions of the future, which range from optimistic to outright fan fiction. At one point during Meta's original presentation on the metaverse, the company showed a scenario in which a young woman is sitting on her couch scrolling through Instagram when she sees a video a friend has posted of a concert that's happening halfway across the world.

The video then cuts to the concert, where the woman appears in an Avengers-style hologram. She's able to make eye contact with her friend who is physically there, they're both able to hear the concert, and they can see floating text hovering above the stage. This seems cool, but it's not advertising a real product or even a possible future one. In fact, it brings us to the biggest problem with "the metaverse."

Why Does the Metaverse Involve Holograms?

When the internet first arrived, it started with a series of technological innovations, like the ability to let computers talk to each other over great distances or the ability to hyperlink from one web page to another. These technical features were the building blocks that were then used to make the abstract structures we know the internet for: websites, apps, social networks, and everything else that relies on those core elements. And that's to say nothing of the convergence of the interface innovations that aren't strictly part of the internet but are still necessary to make it work, such as displays, keyboards, mice, and touchscreens.

With the metaverse, there are some new building blocks in place, like the ability to host hundreds of people in a single instance of a server (idealistic metaverse predictions suppose this will grow to thousands or even millions of people at once, but this might be overly optimistic), or motion-tracking tools that can distinguish where a person is looking or where their hands are. Even Apple's Vision Pro has some breakthrough tech that is genuinely exciting, like controller-free interfaces or pass-through screens that can be very exciting and feel futuristic.

However, there are limitations that may be impossible to overcome. When tech companies like Microsoft or Meta show fictionalized videos of their visions of the future, they frequently tend to gloss over just how people will interact with the metaverse. VR headsets are still very clunky, and most people experience motion sickness or physical pain if they wear them for too long.

Augmented reality glasses face a similar problem, on top of the not-insignificant issue of figuring out how people can wear them around in public without looking like huge dorks. And then there are the accessibility challenges of VR that many companies are shrugging off for now. Meanwhile, Apple's Vision Pro "solves" the problem of users who have to wear glasses by ... selling prescription lens add-ons.

So, how do tech companies show off the idea of their technology without showing the reality of bulky headsets and dorky glasses? So far, their primary solution seems to be to simply fabricate technology from whole cloth. The holographic woman from Meta's presentation? I hate to shatter the illusion, but it's simply not possible with even very advanced versions of existing technology.

Unlike motion-tracked digital avatars, which are kind of janky right now but could be better someday, there's no janky version of making a three-dimensional picture appear in midair without tightly controlled circumstances. No matter what Iron Man tells you.

Perhaps these are meant to be interpreted as images projected via glasses-both women in the demo video are wearing similar glasses, after all-but even that assumes a lot about the physical capabilities of compact glasses, which Snap can tell you isn't a simple problem to solve. And as Apple's demo showed, it's not easy to reconstruct a 3D image of someone in another place without edging close to nightmare fuel.

This kind of glossing over reality occurs frequently in video demos of how the metaverse could work. Another of Meta's demos showed characters floating in space-is this person strapped to an immersive aerial rig or are they just sitting at a desk? A person represented by a hologram-do they have a headset on, and if so how is their face being scanned? And at points, a person grabs virtual items but then holds those objects in what seems to be their physical hands.

This demo raises so many more questions than it answers.

To a limited extent, this is fine. Microsoft, Meta, and every other company that shows wild demos like this are trying to give an artistic impression of what the future could be, not necessarily account for every technical question. It's a time-honored tradition going back to AT&T's demo of a voice-controlled foldable phone that could magically erase people from images and generate 3D models, all of which might've seemed similarly impossible at the time.

However, the past year and a half of metaverse pitches-from tech giants and startups alike-have relied heavily on lofty visions that break from reality. Chipotle's "metaverse" was an ad disguised as a Roblox video game. Stories about scarce "real estate" in "the metaverse" refer to little more than a buggy video game with virtual land tokens (which also glosses over the very real security and privacy issues with most popular NFTs right now).

The confusion and disappointment surrounding most "metaverse" projects are so pervasive that when a video from 2017 of a Walmart VR shopping demo started trending again in January 2022, people immediately thought it was yet another metaverse demo. It also helped demonstrate how much of the current metaverse discussion is built on hype alone. Walmart's VR shopping demo obviously never went anywhere (and for good reason). So why should anyone believe that it's the future when Chipotle does it?

This kind of wishful-thinking-as-tech-demo leaves us in a place where it's hard to pinpoint which aspects of the various visions of the metaverse (if any) will actually be real one day. If VR and AR headsets become comfortable and cheap enough for people to wear on a daily basis-a substantial "if"-then perhaps a virtual poker game with your friends as robots and holograms and floating in space could be somewhat close to reality. If not, well you could always play Tabletop Simulator on a Discord video call.

The flashiness of VR and AR also obscure the more mundane ways that our existing, interconnected digital world could be improved right now. It would be trivial for tech companies to invent, say, an open digital avatar standard, a type of file that includes characteristics you might enter into a character creator-like eye color, hairstyle, or clothing options-and let you take that data everywhere, to be interpreted by a game engine however it chooses. There's no need to build a more comfortable VR headset for that.

But that's not as fun to imagine.

What's the Metaverse Like Right Now?

The paradox of defining the metaverse is that in order for it to be the future, you have to define away the present. We already have MMOs that are essentially entire virtual worlds, digital concerts, video calls with people from all over the world, online avatars, and commerce platforms. So in order to sell these things as a new vision of the world, there has to be some element of it that's new.

Spend enough time having discussions about the metaverse and someone will inevitably (and exhaustingly) reference fictional stories like Snow Crash-the 1992 novel that coined the term "metaverse"-or Ready Player One, which depicts a VR world where everyone works, plays, and shops. Combined with the general pop culture idea of holograms and heads-up displays (basically anything Iron Man has used in his last 10 movies) these stories serve as an imaginative reference point for what the metaverse-a metaverse that tech companies might actually sell as something new-could look like.

Mentally replace the phrase "the metaverse" in a sentence with "cyberspace." Ninety percent of the time, the meaning won't substantially change.

That kind of hype is arguably more vital to the idea of the metaverse than any specific technology. It's no wonder, then, that people promoting things like NFTs-cryptographic tokens that can serve as certificates of ownership of a digital item, sort of-are also latching onto the idea of the metaverse. Sure, NFTs are bad for the environment and the public blockchains most are built on come with massive privacy and security problems, but if a tech company can argue that they'll be the digital key to your virtual mansion in Roblox, then boom. You've just transformed your hobby of buying memes into a crucial piece of infrastructure for the future of the internet (and possibly raised the value of all that cryptocurrency you're holding.)

It's important to keep all this context in mind because while it's tempting to compare the proto-metaverse ideas we have today to the early internet and assume everything will get better and progress in a linear fashion, that's not a given. There's no guarantee people will even want to hang out sans legs in a virtual office or play poker with Dreamworks Mark Zuckerberg, much less that VR and AR tech will ever become seamless enough to be as common as smartphones and computers are today.

In the time since Facebook's rebrand, the concept of "the metaverse" has served as a powerful vehicle for repackaging old tech, overselling the benefits of new tech, and capturing the imagination of speculative investors. A lot of money has also been lost, with little to show for it. Meta itself lost $13.7 billion in 2022, and then spent the first half of 2023 laying off over 10,000 employees.

But money pouring into a space doesn't necessarily mean a massive paradigm shift is right around the corner, as everything from 3D TVs to Amazon's delivery drones and Google Glass can attest. The history of tech is littered with the skeletons of failed investments.

That doesn't mean there's nothing cool on the horizon. VR headsets like the Quest 2 are cheaper than ever, and Apple's Vision Pro could be really cool if there's ever a version that costs less than a laptop, tablet, and phone combined. Video games and other virtual worlds are getting easier to build and design. And I think the advances in photogrammetry-the process of creating digital 3D objects out of photos or video -make it an incredibly cool tool for digital artists.

But to a certain extent, the tech industry writ large depends on futurism. Selling a phone is fine, but selling the future is more profitable. In reality, it may be the case that any real "metaverse" would be little more than some cool VR games and digital avatars in Zoom calls, but mostly just something we still think of as the internet.
June 15, 2023: This story was originally published in November 2021 and has been updated with additional reporting.

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Everything you never wanted to know about the future of talking about the future.

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the new culture revolves are social media because everything can be posted on social media.

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the new culture revolves are social media because everything can be posted on social media.

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Family might be the biggest impact in what you believe in because the household you grow up in follows a certain belief and you can get affected by that as you grow older. peers can also impact what you believe in by them in encouraging you to do something or follow someone.

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Family might be the biggest impact in what you believe in because the household you grow up in follows a certain belief and you can get affected by that as you grow older. peers can also impact what you believe in by them in encouraging you to do something or follow someone.

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The majority of the people in Chicago are Christians.  

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The majority of the people in Chicago are Christians.  

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Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project

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Explore the geographic distribution and demographics of America's major religious groups.

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i live in a neighborhood where the people are nice we aren't necessarily impoverished or rich. the place is very quite and no one is outside much.

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i live in a neighborhood where the people are nice we aren't necessarily impoverished or rich. the place is very quite and no one is outside much.

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Population in 2019: 21,628. this link will show you most of the city data

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Population in 2019: 21,628. this link will show you most of the city data

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Submit your own pictures of this city and show them to the world

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Current weather forecast for Darien, IL

Population in 2019: 21,628 (100% urban, 0% rural).
Population change since 2000: -5.4%

Males: 10,553

(48.8%)

Females: 11,075

(51.2%)

Zip codes: 60516, 60561.
Darien Zip Code Map

Estimated median household income in 2019: $100,003 (it was $74,836 in 2000)

Estimated per capita income in 2019: $52,315 (it was $34,795 in 2000)

Darien city income, earnings, and wages data

Estimated median house or condo value in 2019: $338,665 (it was $208,600 in 2000)
Mean prices in 2019: all housing units: $357,377; detached houses: $386,929; townhouses or other attached units: $313,311; in 2-unit structures: $263,532; in 3-to-4-unit structures: $183,155; in 5-or-more-unit structures: $178,700

Median gross rent in 2019: $1,231.

March 2019 cost of living index in Darien: 102.6 (near average, U.S. average is 100)

Darien, IL residents, houses, and apartments details

Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2019: 5.1%
(4.7%for White Non-Hispanic residents, 19.4% for Black residents, 4.0% for Hispanic or Latino residents, 100.0% for American Indian residents, 2.6% for other race residents, 2.2% for two or more races residents)

Detailed information about poverty and poor residents in Darien, IL

Profiles of local businesses

- Business Search 14 Million verified businesses

According to our research of Illinois and other state lists, there were 8 registered sex offenders living in Darien, Illinois as of May 23, 2022.
The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Darien is 2,776 to 1.
The ratio of registered sex offenders to all residents in this city is much lower than the state average.

The City-Data.com crime index weighs serious crimes and violent crimes more heavily. Higher means more crime, U.S. average is 270.6. It adjusts for the number of visitors and daily workers commuting into cities.

Crime rate in Darien detailed stats: murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, arson

Full-time law enforcement employees in 2019, including police officers: 37 (32 officers).

Recent articles from our blog. Our writers, many of them Ph.D. graduates or candidates, create easy-to-read articles on a wide variety of topics.

Latest news from Darien, IL collected exclusively by city-data.com from local newspapers, TV, and radio stations

Ancestries: Polish (11.8%), Italian (6.5%), Irish (6.0%), German (5.9%), American (5.5%), Lithuanian (3.5%).

Current Local Time: CST time zone

Land area: 6.04 square miles.

Population density: 3,579 people per square mile (average).

3,999 residents are foreign born (9.2% Asia, 5.8% Europe).

Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $6,529 (1.9%)
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $5,924 (1.8%)

Nearest city with pop. 50,000+: Bolingbrook, IL (6.4 miles , pop. 56,321).

Nearest city with pop. 200,000+: Chicago, IL (16.9 miles , pop. 2,896,016).

Nearest cities:

Latitude: 41.75 N, Longitude: 87.98 W

Daytime population change due to commuting: -2,219 (-10.2%)
Workers who live and work in this city: 1,608 (14.2%)

Darien, Illinois accommodation & food services, waste management - Economy and Business Data

Unemployment in November 2020:

Population change in the 1990s: +2,156 (+10.4%).

Average climate in Darien, Illinois
Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Tornado activity:

Darien-area historical tornado activity is near Illinois state average. It is 53% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 8/28/1990, a category F5 ( max. wind speeds 261-318 mph) tornado 16.8 miles away from the Darien city center killed 29 people and injured 350 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

On 6/13/1976, a category F4 ( max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 3.3 miles away from the city center killed 2 people and injured 23 people and caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages.

Earthquake activity:
Darien-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Illinois state average. It is 47% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 4/18/2008 at 09:36:59, a magnitude 5.4 (5.1 MB, 4.8 MS, 5.4 MW, 5.2 MW, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 227.9 miles away from the city center
On 6/10/1987 at 23:48:54, a magnitude 5.1 (4.9 MB, 4.4 MS, 4.6 MS, 5.1 LG) earthquake occurred 202.4 miles away from Darien center
On 4/18/2008 at 09:36:59, a magnitude 5.2 (5.2 MW, Depth: 8.9 mi) earthquake occurred 227.9 miles away from Darien center
On 6/28/2004 at 06:10:52, a magnitude 4.2 (4.2 MW, Depth: 6.2 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 51.5 miles away from the city center
On 6/18/2002 at 17:37:15, a magnitude 5.0 (4.3 MB, 4.6 MW, 5.0 LG) earthquake occurred 260.2 miles away from the city center
On 4/18/2008 at 15:14:16, a magnitude 4.8 (4.5 MB, 4.8 MW, 4.6 MW) earthquake occurred 226.3 miles away from Darien center
Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)

Natural disasters:
The number of natural disasters in DuPage County (15) is near the US average (15).
Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 10
Emergencies Declared: 4

Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 8, Storms: 8, Snowstorms: 2, Tornadoes: 2, Winter Storms: 2, Blizzard: 1, Hurricane: 1, Snow: 1, Wind: 1, Other: 1 (Note: some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).

Main business address for: QUOTESMITH COM INC ( ACCIDENT & HEALTH INSURANCE).

Hospitals and medical centers in Darien:

ADVANCED HOMECARE, INC (8320 SOUTH LEMONT ROAD)

DARIEN HOME HEALTHCARE, INC. (2879 83RD ST)

Other hospitals and medical centers near Darien:

Amtrak stations near Darien:

8 miles: LA GRANGE ROAD (LA GRANGE, 25 W. BURLINGTON AVE.) . Services: enclosed waiting area, public payphones, taxi stand, public transit connection.

9 miles: NAPERVILLE (E. 4TH & ELLSWORTH AVE.) . Services: ticket office, partially wheelchair accessible, enclosed waiting area, public restrooms, public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service, public transit connection.

10 miles: SUMMIT (ARCHER & CENTER AVE.) . Services: public payphones, free short-term parking, free long-term parking, call for taxi service, public transit connection.

College/University in Darien:

Regency Beauty Institute-Darien (Full-time enrollment: 55; Location: 7411 South Cass Avenue; Private, for-profit; Website: www.regency.edu)

Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to Darien:

Public high school in Darien:

Public elementary/middle schools in Darien:

Private elementary/middle school in Darien:

KINGSWOOD ACADEMY (Students: 166, Location: 133 PLAINFIELD RD, Grades: PK-8)

See full list of schools located in Darien

Library in Darien:

INDIAN PRAIRIE PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT (Operating income: $3,012,022; Location: 401 PLAINFIELD ROAD; 157,108 books; 14,842 audio materials; 18,472 video materials; 20 local licensed databases; 16 state licensed databases; 2 other licensed databases; 451 print serial subscriptions; 9 electronic serial subscriptions)

User-submitted facts and corrections:

The zip code for Darien, Il is 60559

Points of interest:

Click to draw/clear city borders

Notable locations in Darien: Carriage Greens Golf Club (A), Darien - Woodridge Fire Protection District Station 3 (B), Tri - State Fire Protection District Station 2 Headquarters (C), Darien - Woodridge Fire Protection District Station 1 (D). Display/hide their locations on the map

Shopping Center: Chestnut Court Shopping Center (1). Display/hide its location on the map

Main business address in Darien: QUOTESMITH COM INC (A). Display/hide its location on the map

Churches in Darien include: Marion Hills Bible Church (A), Our Lady of Peace Church (B), Saint John Evangelical Lutheran Church (C), Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (D), Cross of Christ Lutheran Church (E), Mount Carmel Church (F). Display/hide their locations on the map

Cemetery: Saint Johns Lutheran Cemetery (1). Display/hide its location on the map

Lake: Bruce Lake (A). Display/hide its location on the map

Parks in Darien include: South Grove Park (1), Oldfield Oaks County Forest Preserve (2), Birchwood Park (3), Holly Park (4), Pinewood Park (5), Darien Community Park (6), Darien Sportsplex (7), Darien Chestnut Forest Preserve (8). Display/hide their locations on the map

Tourist attraction: Egyptian Tours & Travel (8117 South Lemont Road Suite 1).

Hotels: Extended Stayamerica (2345 Sokol), Cooney & CO (1551 Pinehurst Drive).

Court: Illinois Probation & Court Services Association (7544 Wilton Road).

DuPage County has a predicted average indoor radon screening level between 2 and 4 pCi/L (pico curies per liter) - Moderate Potential

Drinking water stations with addresses in Darien and their reported violations in the past:
GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH (148411) ( Address: 1501 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD , Population served: 75, Groundwater):
Past monitoring violations:
196 regular monitoring violations

Drinking water stations with addresses in Darien that have no violations reported:

DARIEN (Address: 1702 PLAINFIELD RD , Population served: 23,615, Primary Water Source Type: Purch surface water)

Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households)

Lesbian couples: 0.3% of all households

Gay men: 0.2% of all households

8 people in other noninstitutional facilities in 2010
89people in nursing homes in 2000
15people in religious group quarters in 2000

Banks with most branches in Darien (2011 data):

West Suburban Bank: Cass Avenue Facility at 8001 Cass Avenue, branch established on 1973/06/18; 75th Street Facility at 1005 75th Street, branch established on 1980/03/19. Info updated 2011/02/23: Bank assets: $1,927.7 mil, Deposits: $1,744.7 mil, headquarters in Lombard, IL, positive income, Commercial Lending Specialization, 44 total offices, Holding Company: West Suburban Bancorp, Inc.

Citizens Financial Bank: Darien Branch at 8301 South Cass Avenue, branch established on 2004/09/30. Info updated 2011/07/21: Bank assets: $1,149.8 mil, Deposits: $986.7 mil, headquarters in Munster, IN, negative income in the last year, Commercial Lending Specialization, 22 total offices

For population 15 years and over in Darien:

Never married: 26.4%

Now married: 56.3%

Separated: 0.5%

Widowed: 6.8%

Divorced: 10.0%

For population 25 years and over in Darien:

High school or higher: 96.3%

Bachelor's degree or higher: 50.9%

Graduate or professional degree: 18.9%

Unemployed: 2.4%

Mean travel time to work (commute): 30.4 minutes

Graphs represent county-level data. Detailed 2008 Election Results

Political contributions by individuals in Darien, IL

Religion statistics for Darien, IL (based on DuPage County data)

Religion

Adherents

Congregations

Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center. Graphs represent county-level data

Food Environment Statistics:

Health and Nutrition:

More about Health and Nutrition of Darien, IL Residents

Local government employment and payroll (March 2017)

Function

Full-time employees

Monthly full-time payroll

Average yearly full-time wage

Part-time employees

Monthly part-time payroll

Darien government finances - Expenditure in 2017 (per resident):

Construction - Regular Highways: $43,000 ($1.99)

Current Operations - Police Protection: $7,132,000 ($329.76)
Water Utilities: $6,533,000 ($302.06)

Regular Highways: $2,810,000 ($129.92)

Financial Administration: $1,605,000 ($74.21)

General - Interest on Debt: $1,026,000 ($47.44)

Other Capital Outlay - Parks and Recreation: $393,000 ($18.17)

Total Salaries and Wages: $6,414,000 ($296.56)

Darien government finances - Revenue in 2017 (per resident):

Charges - Other: $559,000 ($25.85)

Federal Intergovernmental - Other: $179,000 ($8.28)

Miscellaneous - General Revenue - Other: $151,000 ($6.98)
Interest Earnings: $41,000 ($1.90)

Revenue - Water Utilities: $7,932,000 ($366.75)

State Intergovernmental - General Local Government Support: $8,077,000 ($373.45)
Highways: $768,000 ($35.51)

Other: $9,000 ($0.42)

Tax - Property: $2,381,000 ($110.09)
Public Utilities Sales: $1,987,000 ($91.87)

Other License: $1,276,000 ($59.00)

Other Selective Sales: $950,000 ($43.92)

Darien government finances - Debt in 2017 (per resident):

Long Term Debt - Outstanding Unspecified Public Purpose: $26,017,000 ($1202.93)
Beginning Outstanding - Unspecified Public Purpose: $25,667,000 ($1186.75)

Issue, Unspecified Public Purpose: $1,171,000 ($54.14)

Retired Unspecified Public Purpose: $820,000 ($37.91)

Darien government finances - Cash and Securities in 2017 (per resident):

Other Funds - Cash and Securities: $9,342,000 ($431.94)

6.52% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($78,245 average adjusted gross income)

0.04% of residents moved from foreign countries ($645 average AGI)

Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2015 and 2016:

7.43% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($87,548 average adjusted gross income)

0.06% of residents moved to foreign countries ($760 average AGI)

Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2015 and 2016:

Businesses in Darien, IL

Name

Count

Name

Count

Browse common businesses in Darien, IL

See more detailed statistics of Darien fatal car crashes and road traffic accidents for 1975 - 2019 here

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Aggregated Statistics For Year 2009
(Based on 6 partial tracts)

A) FHA, FSA/RHS & VA
Home Purchase Loans

B) Conventional
Home Purchase Loans

C) Refinancings

D) Home Improvement Loans

E) Loans on Dwellings For 5+ Families

F) Non-occupant Loans on
< 5 Family Dwellings (A B C & D)

G) Loans On Manufactured
Home Dwelling (A B C & D)

Number

Average Value

Number

Average Value

Number

Average Value

Number

Average Value

Number

Average Value

Number

Average Value

Number

Average Value

Detailed HMDA statistics for the following Tracts: 8455.03 ,8455.04, 8458.01, 8458.02, 8458.04, 8458.05

Private Mortgage Insurance Companies Aggregated Statistics For Year 2009
(Based on 6 partial tracts)

A) Conventional
Home Purchase Loans

B) Refinancings

C) Non-occupant Loans on
< 5 Family Dwellings (A & B)

Number

Average Value

Number

Average Value

Number

Average Value

Detailed PMIC statistics for the following Tracts: 8455.03 ,8455.04, 8458.01, 8458.02, 8458.04, 8458.05

2003 - 2018 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) incidents
See full National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for Darien, IL

Most common first names in Darien, IL among deceased individuals

Name

Count

Lived (average)

Most common last names in Darien, IL among deceased individuals

Last name

Count

Lived (average)

Darien compared to Illinois state average:

Median house value above state average.

Unemployed percentage significantly below state average.

Black race population percentage significantly below state average.

Hispanic race population percentage significantly below state average.

Median age above state average.

Renting percentage below state average.

House age below state average.

Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher above state average.

#73 on the list of "Top 101 cities with largest percentage of females in occupations: health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (population 5,000+)"

#77 (60561) on the list of "Top 101 zip codes with the largest percentage of Czech first ancestries (pop 5,000+)"

#84 (60561) on the list of "Top 101 zip codes with the largest percentage of Lithuanian first ancestries"

#14 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the largest number of people without health insurance coverage in 2000 (pop. 50,000+)"

#19 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the highest percentage of residents that visited a dentist within the past year"

#23 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the most Catholic adherents"

#25 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the best general health status score of residents (1-5), 3 years of data"

#26 on the list of "Top 101 counties with the largest number of children under 18 without health insurance coverage in 2000 (pop. 50,000+)"

There are 37 pilots and 34 other airmen in this city.

John Nyhoff (49)

William D. Severa (21)

Francis S. Lau (14)

Shengkui Hu (7)

William A. Bernard (5)

Hirohide Toyama (5)

Ayham Al-Banna (5)

Darsh T. Wasan (5)

Mohan K. Panicker (5)

Vijaya Kumar (4)

Total of 306 patent applications in 2008-2022.

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Submit your own pictures of this city and show them to the world OSM Map General Map Google Map MSN Map Current weather forecast for Darien, IL Population in 2019: 21,628 (100% urban, 0% rural). Population change since 2000: -5.4% Males: 10,553 (48.8%) Females: 11,075 (51.2%) Zip codes: 60516, 60561.

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this image is an outing hosted by Darien education association to help new teachers get in the zone

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this image is an outing hosted by Darien education association to help new teachers get in the zone