MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. More than a third of Russians surveyed (37%) think that the creation of metaverses will do more harm than good. Only 9% of respondents are convinced of the opposite opinion, according to a survey carried out by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center published on its website on Wednesday.
"According to 37% of its citizens, there will be more harm from creating metaverses. Russians aged 35-44 think so more often (45%). A primary benefit was reported by 9%. Most often these are young people aged 18-24 (23%). One in five respondents expressed the opinion that the creation of metaverses will offer advantages and disadvantages equally (19%), while 18% believe that there will be no harm or benefit from this phenomenon," the survey says.
In October 2021, Mark Zuckerberg revealed a glimpse of Facebook’s plans to build the "Metaverse," The Guardian reported. Metaverse is a digital world built over our own, comprising virtual reality headsets and augmented reality.
Among the main threats that the creation of metaverse pose, according to the respondents who are against it, is the danger of avoiding reality (37%), the lack of live communication (11%), and degradation (9%). Those who pointed to the benefits of metaverses believe that they provide more opportunities for communication (14%), broaden horizons (13%), as well as simplify the search for information and indicate technical progress (8% each).
More than a quarter (27%) of respondents said that they would be interested in visiting the metaverse as their digital copy, among young people aged 18-24, the number of respondents reached 56%. More than half (69%) of those polled said that they would not be interested in visiting the metaverse.
"The prospects of creating metaverses are both tempting and frightening. The anticipated positive effects are associated with new opportunities opening up in various fields. It is appealing to create your own digital avatar, actively participating in meetings and negotiations thanks to artificial intelligence (while he is working on another task or, for example, conquering the Himalayas). Right now, philosophers are discussing the issues of life after death on social networks, whereas the prospects of creating digital doubles bring the dream of eternal life closer to fulfillment," said Elena Mikhailova, Advisor to the General Director of Russian Public Opinion Research Center, commenting on the results of the survey.
This nationwide poll was conducted on February 13, 2022, among 1,600 Russian citizens aged over 18. The margin of error with a 95% probability does not exceed 2.5%.