TL;DR
- Surveys show US teens are unimpressed with the metaverse.
- Nearly half are uninterested and have no plans to purchase VR equipment.
The metaverse may be all the rage for companies large and small, but those companies may be severely overestimating its appeal among teens.
The metaverse refers to the convergence of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), along with immersive, online 3D worlds. In many ways, it’s the next evolution of current VR tech. Meta (formerly Facebook), Microsoft, Epic, and many others are investing billions to stake their claim on the burgeoning market. Unfortunately for the companies involved, a survey by Piper Sandler of 7,100 United States teens shows they aren’t that excited about the metaverse.
Even more telling is the fact that 48% of teens are unsure of their interest in the metaverse, or are completely uninterested. Only 9% of teens are interested in it and plan to purchase equipment, while 18% are moderately interested and may purchase equipment. The remaining 25% are interested in the metaverse, but have no plans to follow through with purchases.
Meta recently made headlines when it announced it would charge content creators a 47.5% commission on the content they create for the metaverse. Meta may be setting itself up for half of not much at all, given the apparent lack of interest from the demographic that is going to make or break its success.
