There is cause for optimism as well as the recognition that a lot of work needs to be done to make the metaverse a success, according to a study by Morning Consult.
The metaverse is a virtual world that many are calling the next generation of the web, that will feature virtual and augmented reality applications to achieve much of what the current web does, and potentially much more.
The most positive results in the survey, which sampled 4,420 U.S. adults from March 3 to March 5: More than half (51%) of respondents in Generation Z are very or somewhat interested in the metaverse, as are 56% of millennial respondents.
Additionally, 52% of Black and Hispanic adults are interested in the metaverse, while only 34% of Whites said the same. The survey found that 46% of men are interested, while only 28% of women. The survey dug into women’s views: 70% said safety in the metaverse is a major or minor concern, 73% said they are worried about online abuse and 64% said they are concerned about sexual harassment.
A potential upside for the metaverse is that a good portion of people are not familiar with it. This suggests that acceptance can grow as people learn more. Sixty-three percent of people have not heard a lot/not heard much about the metaverse.
The metaverse study found that 36% of people are very/somewhat interested in the metaverse in general. About one-third of those surveyed said that they were very or somewhat interested in Horizon Worlds (34%) and Horizon Workrooms (32%). Both are products of Meta Platforms.
In a February blog post, Meta – formerly Facebook — said that it hoped to reach a billion people with its virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) products. To do so, however, there needs to be “vast enhancements in capacity and fundamental shifts in how networks are architected and deployed, as well as an industry-wide collaboration – from tech companies to mobile operators, service providers, policymakers, and more.”
The requirements, the post said, are significant advances in network latency, symmetrical bandwidth, and overall network speeds; global stakeholder partnerships and a foundation of openness and interoperability that is accessible to as many people as possible
