The notoriety of metaverse
still remains relative. But, for the French who have already heard of it, the virtual world does not inspire them for the most part with confidence.
The Talan innovation consulting firm and the Ifop institute were curious to know the perception that the French had of the metaverse, of the notoriety of this virtual universe to its actors (including Meta, the parent company of Facebook), passing by the user experience, the conservation of personal data and the protection of the environment. For now, in France, it is the reluctance that dominates against the fully digital world connected to the real world.
The metaverse, a notoriety still low
The metaverse has made a breakthrough in opinion in 2021, and it will be one of the technology trends of the year 2022. But to what extent has it imposed itself in the collective imagination? The study carried out on January 4 and 5 presents a net result. When asked if they have ever heard of metaverses, the French are only 35% to have answered “Yes”. Only 14% of respondents have a precise idea of what it is, and 65% state that they have not heard of the phenomenon.
Notoriety, therefore, we understand that it is not quite that and that the metaverse does not yet speak enough to the general public, but probably more to insiders. It is interesting to see that it is men (46%), managers and upper middle professions (61%) and leaders (49%) who have the best knowledge of the metaverse.
It appears from this study that 60% of French people consider the metaverse as a means of entertainment. They are 54% to think that it is a means of escaping from reality. A majority of them (58%) even draw a parallel with the cultural world, considering that museums should be the first to be present in the metaverse. It should also be borne in mind that 3 out of 4 French people have not yet used a virtual reality headset, which is intended to be a major tool (but not essential, as Disney shows) in the development of metaverses.
Some reluctance, partly because of Facebook (Meta)
Beyond a budding enthusiasm, it is above all reluctance that prevails today. 75% of French people say they have fears about the emergence of digital virtual worlds. These fears are obviously stronger among 25-64 year olds (71 to 80%) than among 18-24 year olds (49%). 80% of respondents do not believe that the digital virtual world can reduce carbon emissions in the real world, a finding that applies to all generations. And concerning crypto-currencies, which are at the heart of the economic model of future digital virtual worlds, only 8% of French people say they have already used them (4% have already made payments through this means).
It doesn’t seem like much, but these statistics could be enough to convince metaverse manufacturers that there is indeed the beginnings of an economic model, especially when we learn, also in the study, that between 4 and 19% of respondents would be ready to pay with real money to buy goods (clothing, house, car, land) or activities (entertainment, services, pornography) in a digital virtual world.
We know that the Meta group has positioned itself on the metaverse with the application Horizon Worlds
. With nearly 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook is dedicated to being a major player in the virtual world. And that hardly reassures the French, who are 67% who do not want their Facebook accounts to be associated with digital profiles in the metaverses of the Meta group. The latter still suffers from recent controversies, since 74% of respondents do not trust the company to create and manage a metaverse.
Source: Ifop poll for Talan
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