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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Digital Public Health

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1463494

This article is part of the Research Topic Extracting Insights from Digital Public Health Data using Artificial Intelligence, Volume III View all 11 articles

The Application of Metaverse in Mental Health

Provisionally accepted
yue wang yue wang 1boshi duan boshi duan 2xi chen xi chen 1yuxuan song yuxuan song 3Xin Liu Xin Liu 1*
  • 1 Liaoning Cancer Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
  • 2 China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 3 China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Rapid technological progress is reshaping human existence globally. The metaverse, a 3D digital realm merging virtual reality (VR) with physical space, exemplifies this fusion. Users can replicate and customize real-world elements within this immersive environment. Over the past decade, VR, augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) have become effective tools for addressing mental health conditions, offering solutions to the shortage of mental health professionals and limited access to care. However, extensive participation in 3D immersive gaming and social media can lead to insecurity, anxiety, depression, and addictive behaviors, particularly among young adults. This engagement may also impair attention spans, exacerbating symptoms in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This research examines the impact of expanding metaverse applications on mental health, exploring both risks and benefits.

    Keywords: Metaverse, Mental Health, Artificial inteligence, big data, virtual reality

    Received: 12 Jul 2024; Accepted: 20 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 wang, duan, chen, song and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xin Liu, Liaoning Cancer Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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