Mark Zuckerberg says the metaverse won’t be as cringey as his cursed selfie

To mark the expansion of Meta’s bland virtual reality platform, Horizon Worlds, into France and Spain, Mark Zuckerberg recently shared a selfie. The graphic, featuring the boyish CEO in front of a low-res model of the Eiffel tower, quickly struck a nerve, sparking sneers, jeers and sighs from quippy social media users. And honestly, can you blame them?

If the image offended you — and personally, I’d find that reasonable given Meta’s influence over our virtual past and present — then perhaps you can find solace in this: Mark Zuckerberg hears you. He sees you. And no, he more or less says, the metaverse won’t look that wack. At least, not forever. 

“Major updates to Horizon and avatar graphics coming soon. I’ll share more at Connect,” the CEO said on Instagram on Friday, referring to Meta’s upcoming developer conference. “Also, I know the photo I posted earlier this week was pretty basic — it was taken very quickly to celebrate a launch,” the executive added, showing signs of humanity. The misstep echoed something wholly relatable: the act of posting a late-night selfie, only to regret it in the morning.

The Meta boss’ response included another avatar and an ancient-looking cafe, with fine details that evoke a bit more Pixar and a little less e-card. Zuckerberg went on to reassure his followers that Meta’s graphics and avatars are “capable of much more — even on headsets — and Horizon is improving very quickly.”

Indeed, for all of our sakes, I sure hope he’s right.