Who wants to migrate to the metaverse? Big Five traits as predictors of virtual and real-world migration intentions.

Abstract

Virtual migration is increasingly recognized as a new research direction for mobility studies, supplementing embodied and spatial mobility. metaverse technology could accelerate such migrations in the future, as it intends to offer a viable alternative to the real world regarding work and entertainment opportunities. Drawing from research on the relationship between personality and real-world migration intentions, we aimed to compare whether the Big Five personality traits similarly (or differently) predict willingness to move to the metaverse and to geographical places. We conducted two representative studies (Ntotal =2306) in Poland. We found that extraversion positively and agreeableness and conscientiousness negatively predict virtual and real-world migration willingness. Furthermore, openness is positively associated with real-world migration intentions and negatively associated with willingness to migrate to the metaverse. In turn, the effect of neuroticism on virtual migration intentions was positive but less stable across the studies.

The bold decision to go “all in”: Understanding the reasons behind consumers' willingness to migrate to the metaverse

“…Interacting with avatars in metaverse gives me some sense of social life Empowerment I have significant autonomy in determining how I use the metaverse I have opportunity for independence and freedom in how I use the metaverse I can decide on my own how to go about using the metaverse Realistic threat (Oleksy, Czeranowska, et al, 2023) The development of the metaverse will make it difficult for people to establish relationships in the real world Through the development of the metaverse, people will stop caring about places in the real world…”

“…The metaverse of today is similar as it goes beyond the internet to envision a transformative space in which people not only engage but inhabit and reshape their digital existence (George et al, 2021; Sung et al, 2023). It is easy to foresee a future in which individuals are eager to migrate to this alternate, immersive virtual world (Oleksy, Czeranowska, et al, 2023). When conceptualizing the metaverse, it is important to not confine the idea of migration to physical movement alone (Oleksy, Wnuk, & Lassoto, 2023).…”

“…Further, the flexibility and low‐cost movement characteristics of virtual migrations resemble the fluid circulatory patterns that currently prevail between virtual and physical spaces (Allam et al, 2022; Voorsluys et al, 2009). Presently, migrations to virtual worlds predominantly involve short‐term movements and oscillations between the virtual and real environments (Oleksy, Czeranowska, et al 2023; Oleksy, Wnuk, & Lassoto, 2023). This gradual shift from the real world to the digital, exemplified by emerging entities like the metaverse, mirrors the migratory behaviors observed in the physical world (Oleksy, Wnuk, & Piskorska, 2023).…”

“…In the context of individuals' migration from physical spaces to virtual worlds, the phenomenon of the metaverse holds a prominent position. Sparking substantial interest and discussion (Kumar, Shankar, & Nayal, 2024; Oleksy, Czeranowska, et al, 2023) since Facebook, Inc. changed its name to Meta (Dwivedi, Hughes, et al, 2023; Vidal‐Tomás, 2023), the metaverse represents the next step of evolution in internet technology. It refers to a dynamic and interconnected socioeconomic ecosystem that blends elements of the digital and physical worlds (Kar & Varsha, 2023).…”