Metaverse and education: affective bonds, cognition, and ethics in immersive environments

This paper explores how metaverses have shaped new forms of social, emotional, and pedagogical connection in immersive digital environments. It analyzes how the personalization of avatars and the construction of virtual identities have allowed users to express subjective dimensions that often cannot be found in physical spaces. This dynamic has fostered the emergence of deeper relationships but has also brought with it ambivalent effects such as emotional dissociation and digital burnout. It also examines the role of pedagogical strategies, gamification, and accessibility as key factors in the quality of interactions. The study highlights the importance of incorporating ethical and digital justice principles to counter risks such as exclusion, algorithmic surveillance, and unequal access. Overall, it offers a critical and situated perspective on the potential of the metaverse to generate safe, inclusive, and emotionally meaningful environments. Intentional design, educational support, and political commitment have been identified as necessary conditions for transforming these spaces into true scenarios of collective construction and shared well-being.