Metaverse is the majority of unknowns, freedom of speech should be limited

According to the latest VoxPopuli poll, only a third of participants are aware of the opportunities offered by Metaverse.

3 min to read
Written by: Anamarija Morić

Last month was marked by two important news from the largest companies in the world of social networks. While Elon Musk becomes the owner of Twitter with the aim of censoring content on that platform, the META is opening the first physical stores to try to demystify the concept of Metaverse or metaverse, and attract as many new users to the so-called. a new generation of the internet. Our #VoxPopuli survey in which we wanted to find out the opinions of our followers on social networks about this news, we conducted in May on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, and below are the results.

Twitter’s new challenges

Respondents on Instagram expressed a divided opinion on whether Musk’s takeover of Twitter would bring greater freedom of speech. A total of 48% of them agree with this statement, while 51% of respondents think that it will not affect freedom of speech on Twitter. On LinkedIn, 31% of respondents think that freedom of speech will be greater, 50% of respondents disagree with this statement, while 19% of them are undecided. A high 84% of respondents agree that influential individuals will use non-censorship of potentially harmful content to spread hate speech. On the one hand, the change of ownership on Twitter could potentially bring new users of radical beliefs, with which as many as 71% of respondents agree, and on the other hand 64% of respondents think that Musk’s takeover of Twitter will result in leaving a number of users.

Hate speech on social media

On Instagram, 100% of respondents clearly stated that hate speech and misinformation are present on social networks, and 96% of respondents think that social networks have an impact on democracy and social climate in the world. When we talk about the current state of freedom of speech on social networks, 74% of respondents think that it is not currently limited and an even higher percentage, 95% of respondents, agree that hate speech should be better regulated and punished more severely.

New virtual environment

The second part of our #VoxPopuli research refers to Metaverse or a kind of concept of three-dimensional internet where different technologies overlap with which we can do everything we do in the virtual world in the real world. 33% of respondents are aware of the possibilities offered by Metaverse, but the fact that 67% of respondents are not familiar with this novelty is not surprising given the innovative concept and technologies that Metaverse implies. Our LinkedIn community shares a very similar opinion, although a slightly higher percentage of participants (40% of respondents) are familiar with the term Metaverse. The same numbers are visible around the question of whether Vox Populi survey participants can imagine working, educating and socializing in a virtual 3D world. On the question of whether we will spend more time in the Metaverse in the future than in the physical world, 47% of respondents think we will, while the rest disagree with this prediction.

Going to a virtual store to make purchases

Given that the answers indicate that participants are not sufficiently informed about Metaverse and the idea that we could spend money on virtual clothes, real estate, things and experiences in the future sounds rather abstract, it is not surprising that only 12% of respondents agree. Half of the participants agree that Metaverse will be a good opportunity to invest in brands, with 68% of them thinking that the prices of virtual items in Metaverse will not be similar to those in the physical world. Regarding the question of whether Metaverse will change the retail industry forever, 52% of respondents think they will, while 48% of them think they will not.

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