As technology develops, it becomes more and more likely that we as humans live in two different worlds: the real world and the cyber world. Some people refer to the real world as “meatspace”. But what does this crypto slang term really mean? Read on to find out!

What Does Meatspace Mean? 

Although it may sound like it, meatspace isn’t a vulgar slang term for a gross act – it simply means the real world. It refers to the physical world that humans live in, contrasting the term “cyberspace” which refers to the online world of the Internet and digital devices. 

A simple way to define the difference between the two terms is that “meatspace” is offline, and “cyberspace” is online. However, there is also an alternate definition of the term “meatspace”. 

While the most popular definition simply means “offline”, another definition of meatspace is your offline life that’s distinct from your online life. The term can also be used in sentences “His online friends say that he’s a completely different person in meatspace.” 

The Origins Of The Term 

The exact origin of the term “meatspace” is unknown, but it first came to prominence in cyberpunk and sci-fi novels published around the advent of the world wide web, like Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson. These books tend to tell the story of a world where much of our lives are augmented or wholly replaced by technology. Most uses of the term “meatspace” come because humans are usually referred to as “pieces of meat” in those settings.

As the decade wore on, “meatspace” became more and more commonly seen in newspapers and other media, until it was included in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. These days, people don’t even need to explain what meatspace means because almost everyone understands it. 

Meatspace’s Use In Crypto 

The online-based crypto community has seen liberal use of the term “meatspace”. People would refer to fiat currency as “meatspace money” when making cryptocurrency transactions since fiat is the primary medium of trade in the real world. 

An especially awesome community or crypto project may also organize meatspace meetups for community members to get to know each other. With an increased sense of community amongst project holders, the project becomes more than a simple exchange of cryptocurrency and NFTs between strangers. 

Other Synonyms For Meatspace 

In addition to meatspace, there are also other common terms for real life used in crypto communities, such as:

• IRL (In Real Life)
• Offline
• The real world

The Relationship Between Cyberspace And Meatspace 

While cyberspace and meatspace are often thought of as two separate things, the lines between them are blurred nowadays. 

In the days before social media, anonymity was the default way of using the Internet. You could chat with someone for years and not even know their real name. However, the advent of social media encouraged Internet users to post photos and divulge their real names, bringing meatspace and cyberspace closer together. 

The wall between cyberspace and meatspace grows even thinner with the popularity of virtual reality and augmented reality technology, where people can travel into virtual worlds where they can “meet up” with online friends and colleagues. 

Moreover, our dependence on digital devices in our daily lives means that, even if we live in meatspace, cyberspace is an integral part of reality. 

Closing Thoughts 

Meatspace is simply another word that the crypto community uses to describe the real world. These days, the increasing dependence on technology means that the line between meatspace and cyberspace has been blurred.

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