What do people really think about the metaverse?

The metaverse has arrived. And with more companies and developers focusing their efforts on building these digital worlds, the team from the crypto educational site CoinKickoff decided to explore what people around the world think about this emerging technology.

Are they excited about the possibilities the metaverse offers? Or are they more concerned about the impact it may have on society and the way we live our lives?

Find the answers to those questions in the infographics below.

But before that, let's take a dive into the metaverse.

What is the Metaverse?

The "metaverse" is a catch-all term that describes a hypothetical future version of the internet where users can interact with a virtual world and each other in a seemingly real and physically immersive way, often through virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) technologies.

In this vision of the future, people will experience a fully-realised digital world, complete with its own economies, societies, and cultures. The idea of the metaverse has been popularized by science fiction and has been a topic of interest for many technology companies and futurists.

However, the implementation of a metaverse is still in its early stages and is currently limited to isolated virtual environments or platforms.

Are there different versions of the metaverse?

Yes! Big tech companies, start-ups, and computer game designers are working on their own versions of the metaverse. However, two platforms stand out for their sophistication, scale, and usability. They are:

Meta's Metaverse

Meta (formerly known as Facebook) is building a decentralized and shared metaverse powered by the Ethereum blockchain. In Meta's metaverse, users can create and interact with virtual environments, digital assets, and other users in a secure and decentralized way. The platform allows users to create their own digital content, such as avatars, digital real estate, and virtual experiences. They can also trade these digital assets with each other.

Decentraland

Decentraland is another metaverse platform that sits on the Ethereum blockchain. It allows users to create, experience, and monetize content and applications in a virtual world. Decentraland is a decentralized, user-owned virtual world that offers a unique experience for its users, including the ability to buy, sell, and create digital assets, such as virtual real estate, clothing, and in-game items. Users can also interact with each other and participate in various virtual experiences and games.

How many people use the metaverse, and how big will it get?

The metaverse is still a developing field, so accurate data and projections can be challenging to find. However, here are some statistics and forecasts that give us an idea of the potential growth and impact of the metaverse:

According to a report by Statista, the global virtual reality (VR) market is on track to reach $19.5billion in 2023. The metaverse is expected to play a significant role in the growth of the VR market, as well as other immersive technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR)

Some reports predict that the number of users in the metaverse could reach hundreds of millions or even billions in the coming years.

The economic impact of the metaverse is expected to be significant, with some reports estimating that it could become a multi-billion dollar industry. This would include revenue generated from virtual real estate sales, digital goods and services, and advertising.

Virtual real estate? Are you serious?

Yes, that's right - virtual real estate. Virtual real estate will be a major component of the metaverse economy, with some analysts suggesting that the value of virtual real estate could reach hundreds of billions of dollars by 2030.

It sounds crazy, right? But huge virtual land deals are happening all the time. In November 2021, metaverse investment company Republic Realm bought a piece of land in The Sandbox metaverse for $4.3 million.

Will the metaverse replace real life?

Probably not! The metaverse has the potential to offer new and unique experiences and opportunities. Still, it's nowhere near replacing the richness and complexity of real-life human interaction and the physical world.

So we're not going to end up trapped in the Matrix?

Again, it's very doubtful.

While the idea of a fully-realized metaverse is intriguing, the technology and our understanding of the human brain and consciousness are still in their infancy. As such, we won't be creating completely convincing simulated realities anytime soon. In fact, some experts believe we'll never be able to fully recreate 'reality.’

Will the metaverse need its own set of laws?

That's a super-interesting question! The idea of a simulated reality raises many complex ethical and philosophical questions about the nature of reality, consciousness, and free will.

At the moment it's unclear how these questions would be addressed in a real-life implementation of a metaverse or simulated reality. But if the metaverse grows as expected, it's only a matter of time until we're forced to find the answers.

Are people ready for the metaverse?

That's what this latest study from CoinKickoff is all about.

To see which nations and states in the United States are most intrigued by metaverses, CoinKickoff researchers analyzed 1.6 million tweets, as well as data collected from 19 of the most widely used metaverses.

They also looked at Google search volumes for keywords related to metaverses in 192 countries.

Which countries are most interested in the metaverse?

Tech lovers in the Philippines can't wait to see what the metaverse has to offer. CoinKickoff researchers discovered 2,421 metaverse-related Google searches per 1000 residents; that's the highest percentage of searches anywhere in the world.

Grenada comes next, with 1,472 searches per 1,000 people, followed by Peru (1,375), Lithuania (1,371), and Estonia (1,349.)

Vietnam has always been home to early-tech adopters, which explains its positive sentiment toward the metaverse. Nearly 6 out of 10 metaverse-related tweets geotagged in Vietnam said positive or exciting things about exploring digital worlds.

Where do people hate the metaverse?

Ireland is the most anti-metaverse country in the world, according to the data from CoinKickoff. 14.4% of related tweets sent inside the Emerald Isle contained negative sentiments.

And there's plenty of metaverse scepticism across Scandinavia. Denmark, Norway, and Sweden all appear in the list of top 10 countries that hate the metaverse.

Other entrants include New Zealand, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the USA.

Metaverse sentiment in the USA

Silicon Valley is a hotbed of metaverse innovation. Dozens of companies in and around Palo Alto are working on metaverse projects.

For example, Facebook is developing Horizon, a social metaverse that aims to connect people through shared experiences. At the same time, Unity Technologies is working on creating unique metaverse environments for computer games.

So it's no surprise that California is one of the most pro-metaverse states in the US. More than 37% of relevant tweets tagged in the state said great things about the metaverse. Only Florida, Utah, Hawaii, and Wyoming scored higher.

The folks of North Dakota seem more content with the real world - for now. Over 1 in 5 (21%) of metaverse tweets from the Roughrider State were analyzed as negative by CoinKickoff's research team.

Nobody really knows what the metaverse will look like. But one thing is for sure; it's going to be a very, very interesting place.

Take a look at below infographics for more insights:
New study reveals where people are most interested in the Metaverse
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