Metaverse data ownership is not acceptable to the majority of US consumers

Almost 1,000 Americans responded to a survey about the metaverse's growing interest. 

According to a survey conducted by Advokate Group, the provider of nonfungible tokens (NFT) and metaverse infrastructure, 87% of respondents would prefer a decentralized metaverse than some of the mega projects planned by tech giants. It became increasingly evident when 77% of respondents expressed concern over Facebook's entry into the metaverse, given the fact that it owns users' metaverse data.

Due to Facebook's history of mishandling private user data, it has already discarded early plans of launching a stable coin called Diem. The stablecoin project faced heavy scrutiny from the U.S. Congress, and the project eventually came to a crashing end. In a similar vein, concerns have begun to grow about Facebook's multibillion-dollar plans to build a metaverse.

Survey respondents were divided in their prediction for when metaverse will become mainstream: 20% believe it will take one to two years, while 49% believe it will take three to six years. Gaming was the primary choice of spending time in metaverse followed by socializing. More than half of the respondents said they would spend more than three hours a day on the metaverse.

A majority of the respondents also showed a keen interest in making money while playing games. In the latest craze of play-to-earn models, 93% of respondents said they would spend more time playing games if they could earn a minimum wage. Approximately 64% of respondents said they would spend more than three hours playing if they could make real money, and 87% would switch to full-time gaming.

Since 2021, the idea of a metaverse ecosystem has gained tremendous traction, and today all the major tech giants, such as Apple, Facebook, and Google, are seeking to launch or invest in it. However, a significant chunk of crypto proponents oppose centralized cash-rich firms because they believe decentralization will suffer.