Last year, Facebook announced that it was rebranding to Meta after over 16 years under the old alias. The introduction of Zuckerberg’s Meta also came with the announcement of a new virtual world called “metaverse.” But despite growing interest in this new technology, the general public still lacks a broad understanding of what exactly this term means and, moreover, if they should join.
We surveyed 1,025 participants in March 2022 about their knowledge and familiarity with various new technologies, such as NFTs, cryptocurrency, metaverse, and more. We wanted to answer questions such as would more people invest in things like NFTs or Bitcoin if they didn’t find it so confusing? and How many people are googling “what is the metaverse?” to determine how the general public feels about this new technology.
What is the Metaverse?
The broad definition of a metaverse is “an integrated network of 3D virtual worlds.” These virtual worlds can be accessed through a virtual reality headset, ultimately allowing users to navigate through the metaverse using their eye movements, voice commands, as well as feedback controllers. With the headset on, users are immersed in the network of virtual worlds, allowing them to get the sense that they are actually there, in real time. But it’s more than a video game to pass the time. The metaverse comes along with its own currency, in the form of NFTs, that can be bought, sold, and exchanged for substantial value.
To put it frankly, the metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection. But what do technology users think about this new concept? Read these 15 essential survey statistics to find out.
Over 80% are at least ‘somewhat’ confused by the metaverse.
The exact specifications of the metaverse have remained vague, and 23% of respondents reported they are ‘extremely confused’ about what the metaverse is. Just 19% of respondents reported that they were ‘not at all’ confused about the metaverse.
More people prefer Facebook (39%) to the metaverse (9%).
Just 9% of respondents prefer the metaverse over Facebook, while over 1 in 2 respondents preferred neither of the two.
Of the generations, Baby Boomers are most confused by the metaverse, with 29% saying they are “extremely confused.”
Gen Z is the least confused overall with the term, with 21% reporting they are not at all confused with the metaverse, and just 18% reporting extreme confusion.
56% would rather give up social media forever than join the metaverse.
Although there is no ultimatum over social media or the metaverse at this moment, more than half of respondents felt so strongly opposed to the virtual world they’d rather go off the grid altogether. However, millennials felt more strongly about letting go of their socials than any other generation (63%). On the contrary, Gen Zers (50%) are the most likely of the generations to join the metaverse as opposed to giving up social media forever.
25% say the main reason they haven’t invested in cryptocurrency is they worry it won’t stay successful.
22% reported the main reason they haven’t invested is because they aren’t interested in virtual currency, while 16% said they won’t invest because they don’t understand it.
Of the generations, millennials (73%) are most likely to know someone who has invested in bitcoin.
Nearly two in five (48%) think they’re missing out on the potential to make money because they aren’t educated in how to invest in crypto or NFTs.
38% have spent hours researching cryptocurrency and NFTs.
69% of respondents have spent at least a few minutes researching virtual currency.
Of the generations, Millennials (80%) have spent the most time researching crypto/NFTs.
78% of Gen Z respondents have spent at least a few minutes researching virtual currency.
While 83% have heard of NFTs, only 48% say they understand it.
Baby Boomers (46%) are the least likely of the generations to want to learn more about crypto or NFTs.
When it comes to investing in cryptocurrency, more men (42%) have invested than women (17%).
58% would rather invest in bitcoin than NFTs.
18% are “not at all confused” by cryptocurrency.
15% are “not at all confused” by NFTs.
40% have faked understanding a technical term or buzzword during a conversation at least once.
Gen Z is the most likely to share this sentiment, with over half (51.4%) admitting they have. Just 29.8% of Baby Boomers have done the same.
While 68% of respondents don’t use a crypto wallet, 22% say they use Coinbase.
Which Technology Buzzwords are Googled Most?
For the next portion of our analysis, we turned to Ahrefs, a tool that collects data on search engine queries, in order to map out the worldwide popularity of various tech terms over time.
Ethereum was the first term to make a substantial spike around June of 2017, likely due to the price crash of $319 to 10 cents due to multimillion dollar trade. Search interest in the open-source blockchain stayed relatively stable over the rest of the timeline.
In December of 2017, the next big jump in popularity belonged to cryptocurrency and blockchain, each leaping above the 100,000 monthly search volume threshold. 2017 was a historic year for bitcoin, so it’s no surprise that search volume reflects this.
It isn’t again until early 2021 when we say another significant increase in search volume for any of these terms. However, between January and May of 2021, around the r/WallStreetBets era, many terms (including dogecoin, NFTs, cryptocurrency, and more) saw a major influx in interest. Dogecoin increased in popularity by roughly 42x from December 2020 to May 2021.
Since then, NFTs have been the clear leader of the pack with more than three times the search interest of the next leading term, metaverse.
New Technology Confusion Around the World
While our survey focused on American respondents, the U.S. is not the only country affected by this new wave. In fact, around the world people are searching for these same terms to try to understand or get a piece of the action.
Along with the rest of the world, residents of the UK, Canada, and France are most commonly looking for answers on bitcoin and NFTs. These two terms share the title of the first and second most popular searches in each country, respectively.
Interestingly, there are some standout terms in certain countries. For example, India leads the globe in data mining interest. India is responsible for over a quarter of the world’s searches around data mining.
Closing Thoughts
To wrap up, we won’t judge you if you still don’t fully understand what cryptocurrency or the metaverse is. Clearly, you’re not alone. Despite the major surge in popularity of these tech topics, there’s an equivalent increase in confusion surrounding these complex topics.
Similar to NFTs and bitcoin, the average person may not know what ERP software is. Unlike the never ending web of tech jargon, QAD makes digital manufacturing seamless. Learn how QAD Adaptive Applications can improve your business today!
