Emerging countries most enthusiastic about metaverse: Survey

Excitement about extended reality is significantly higher in emerging countries than it is in most high-income countries. In China, India, Peru, Saudi Arabia, and Colombia, more than two-thirds say they have positive feelings about the possibility of engaging with it. However, it is the case of fewer than one-third in Japan, Great Britain, Belgium, Canada, France, and Germany, the survey report said.

Levels of familiarity with virtual reality, augmented reality, and the metaverse show a similar pattern. More than two-thirds in Turkey, India, China, and South Korea report being at least somewhat familiar with the metaverse, compared to fewer than one-third in Poland, France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Familiarity and favourability toward the new technologies are also significantly higher among younger adults, those with a higher level of education, and men than they are among older adults, those without a college-level education, and women.

Despite significant differences in familiarity and enthusiasm, the global public widely expects that various types of metaverse apps using XR will significantly change people’s lives over the next decade – most of all virtual learning (for a 29-country average of 66 per cent), digital entertainment in virtual reality and virtual work settings, as per the report.

Expectations about the impact of metaverse apps also vary by country and by demographic characteristics, following the same pattern as favourability toward extended reality. However, differences are not as sharp, suggesting that, whether they look forward to it or not, most people expect their lives to be profoundly impacted by the new technologies in the coming years.

These are the findings of a 29-country Ipsos survey conducted between April 22 and May 6, 2022, among 21,005 adults aged 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, and Turkey, 21-74 in Singapore, and 16-74 in 23 other countries, via Ipsos’s Global Advisor online survey platform.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)