One in four Italians claim to know what the metaverse is. He is mainly a man, under the age of 34 and has a high level of education. 41% have only heard of it and one in three do not know what it is. 62% of Italians declare themselves interested in the metaverse, above all for the possibility it offers to overcome physical limits, but there is no lack of fears that it will become an instrument of “escape from reality”. These are some of the elements that emerge from a Sensemakers research, aimed at assessing the level of knowledge, perceptions and expectations related to the virtual world.
“We did not expect such a marked difference between men and women. It probably affects the fact that the first channel of access to the metaverse is represented by video games, which are more popular among men, but it is also a question of approach: women they are certainly more pragmatic – explains Fabrizio Angelini, CEO of Sensemakers -. It is above all the data linked to the level of education that gives indications that should not be overlooked: subjects with a lower level of education, not only know little, but are not even interested and this also applies to the youngest “. A potential risk emerges: that the metaverse becomes an amplifier of inequalities, a new element of the “digital divide”, especially in those countries that are less technologically advanced, with inadequate infrastructures and a high average age of the population. “The indication that we can draw is that in addition to being developed, the metaverse must be accompanied, managed, explained well, so as not to leave anyone behind”.
Another interesting element, which affects the knowledge of the metaverse, is the presence of adolescent or pre-adolescent children: children become the learning channel (again, mainly through gaming) or the stimulus to find out about the (virtual) world that belongs to the children. .
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How the metaverse is viewed
The definition of metaverse in which the majority of the sample is found is: “A parallel and digitized reality in which to carry out the same activities of real life and in which digital means increase skills and experiences by influencing real life”.
The research shows that it is not seen as a place for recreation and entertainment, but rather as a place to carry out activities related to real life, from meetings to shopping, with an impact on real life. «For this reason more stringent norms and rules are required than what happens in web 2.0 – comments Angelini -. And 35% of the sample believes that the rules and codes of conduct will have to be established by the public bodies themselves in real life ». Then there is a 28% who believe that the rules must be decided by the user communities and a 23% who think they will be established by the technology companies, which create the virtual environments.
The role of companies in the metaverse
“The phenomenon now seems” too big to fail “, but perhaps it arrived a little early, it responds to needs not yet widespread. It is a bit as if twenty years ago we had done the same survey on touch screens, they would be were perceived as indispensable? – asks Fabrizio Angelini -. There is not yet a strong push from the bottom, but companies are investing significantly in the metaverse, which has thus become a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. It remains to be seen whether the companies follow a trend or if they have wondered if they are really responding to a real need “.
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And perhaps pandemic and war, problems that impact in the real world, have slowed the race a bit. There is a greater demand for concreteness: 44% of the sample believes that “it would be better for companies to invest in real things and to solve real problems”. A similar position was expressed by Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at the Stern School of Business in New York, who a few months ago heavily criticized the metaverse, inviting Big Techs to deal with more concrete issues.
It is also interesting to note the types of companies that according to the sample would be most successful in the metaverse. In first place (according to 49% of the interviewees) the Social Networks, it is above all the youngest, who see virtual reality as a space for meeting and interacting with others. On the second step of the podium the producers of technological devices (42%, which represents a more mature sample) and in third place the online games companies (41%).
“Simplifying, we could say that for young people the software element wins, for the less young the hardware prevails – comments Angelini -. It remains to understand what kind of interaction will be between the user and virtual reality. From the story that is made it seems that you have to immerse yourself in the metaverse for the whole day: you wear visors in the morning and take them off just to eat “. After all, 31% do not perceive devices, viewers or other tools, as a barrier to access and 50% believe that it will depend “on the invasiveness of the device and on how widespread the use of the metaverse will be”.
However, there is no lack of awareness of the risks, starting from the fear of excessive power in the hands of technological companies, to the detriment of real-life institutions (43% of those interviewed).
Opportunities and risks
From the interviewed sample it emerges that the opportunities of the metaverse correspond to as many concerns and potential risks, in some cases mirroring each other.
Among the advantages, the possibility of “living many different experiences” stands out in first place, with 37%, followed by guaranteeing “sociability and meetings even between physically distant people”. There are those who think that “it would help to feel less isolated” (19%) and those who argue that “it would guarantee equality and the same opportunities for people with different economic levels” (17%). The opposite answer, among the risks associated with the metaverse, however, totaled 19%, highlighting the concern that virtual reality could become an amplifier of inequalities. When asked about the opportunities of the virtual world, there is also a 19% who do not think there are any.
In first place among the risks, with 80% of the answers, that of “taking refuge in the metaverse to escape from reality, spending too much time there and losing sight of certain life goals (school, sport, social relations)”. In addition, 27% highlight the dangers of sharing personal information online and the risks of privacy invasion. Only 4% of the sample considered the metaverse to be risk-free.