How Does Gen Z Feel About Metaverse?

According to new research conducted by the Vice Media Group and Publicis Groupes agency Razorfish, Generation Z consumers are spending double the amount of time engaging in social interactions on the Metaverse compared with their real-life counterparts. More than half (57%) of respondents in the study said that they felt more able to express themselves freely in a game compared with real life, while 45% said that their identity in games was a true reflection of their true selves. 

What is Gen Z:

The Oxford Learners Dictionary describes Generation Z as “the cohort born from the late 1990s until the early 2010s”. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines Gen Z as “the generation of people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s”.

Also Read: Gartner Predicts 25% People will Use Metaverse by 2026

Key Findings of the Vice Media and Razorfish Study:

• 45% of Gen Z gamers say, “I feel like my identity in a game is a truer expression of who I am.”
• 40% said this gave them a sense of confidence.
• 77% of Gen Z gamers say their biggest motive for gaming is to relieve stress and anxiety.
• 47% would like to use it to meet new people and 33% would like to use it to build a career.
• 63% of Gen Z are concerned about data privacy in video games and the metaverse (vs. 66% Millennials and 70% Gen X).

Nike and Roblox ‘NIKELAND’ Metaverse:

• In November 2021, the company launched the “micro-metaverse” of games that are played in the Roblox storefront.
• Visitors to Nikeland could make their own avatars (cartoon-like characters representing players) and compete with others in sports-themed games.
• Players can dress their avatars in virtual Nike gear and apparel, and spend the virtual money earned from playing.
• It seems like it is been a roaring success, spurred on in part by the “appearance” at the NBA All-Star Game Week of basketball legend LeBron James, who “coached and engaged with players”.
• In its recent earnings call, the company said that in the first five months, Nikeland was visited by 6.7 million people from 224 countries.

A poll conducted for Variety Intelligence Platform in December by Hub Entertainment Research found that 45% of respondents age 35 and older “indicate an abhorrence” at the idea of the metaverse. A third of them gave their feelings on the subject a rating between zero and two out of 10.

A third of Generation Zers said they want to see brands developing virtual stores. More than half reported feeling more able to express themselves in games than they do in real life; 45% said that their game identities were closer to the way they were in reality, and over three-quarters said that playing helped them relax and improved their mental health.

Gen Z might grow out of their obsession with the virtual realm, but when it does, these consumers–the largest generation on record, nearly 30% of the global population–will define it. What that ultimately looks like for brand managers and marketers is impossible to know, but they ignore it at their peril.