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Top1. Introduction
Metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds that is powered by augmented and virtual reality. Virtual reality (VR) refers to the simulation of an interactive three-dimensional environment that users can be immersed in and can interact with. Muhanna, M. A. (2015). The third generation would include a more immersive and connected experience by leveraging data analytics, machine learning, and decentralization. Metaverse combines both physical and virtual worlds and creates a full-fledged digital economy that would carry out financial transactions and would also enable interoperability that allows the ability to shift across metaverses.
The Metaverse market is expected to have a CAGR of 41.7% from 2021 to 2030 Acumen Research and Consulting. (2022, May 26). The market growth for AR/VR as well as connected devices is planned to grow at a CAGR % rate of over 40% Allied Market Research. (2021, November 1). Other supporting technologies such as cryptocurrency that is expected to reach 250 trillion and 5G connections which is expected to be on average 100 times faster than 4G.
The Metaverse has multiple applications in varied fields including social media, education (Jeon, J., & Jung, S. K., 2021)., and smart cities (Wang, F. Y., Qin, R., Wang, X., & Hu, B. (2022) and modern forms of entertainment to name a few. While research is ongoing clearly describing the varied applications of Metaverse platform, these applications of Metaverse can be successfully used only when there is increased adoption of Metaverse among the general users. There has been no study trying to understand the awareness of metaverse among regular users, the main risks and concerns from an end user perspective and the steps that could be taken to address these concerns which would enable the increased adoption.
Figure 1.
A virtual birthday party in the Metaverse
Table 1. | Metaverse features | Discussion |
| Persistent | Refers to the existence of the virtual platform regardless of users’ physical presence |
| Real-time | Enables users to live experiences |
| Infinite | Interaction between various VR worlds and contemporary users |
| Self-reliant | Includes digital economy where users trade using cryptocurrency that relies on blockchain technology, NFTs (Nonfungible tokens), personal digital avatars, digital goods |
| Interoperable | Enables the movement between various VR platforms |