Between the 2nd and 9th of November of 2022, BanklessTimes.com conducted a metaverse and Facebook survey that polled 2,000 adults from all across America who use social media at least once per week. The participants of this survey were asked about their opinions on the metaverse and Facebook in general, as well as the latter's connection to the former.
Below you can find data based on the poll respondents' answers to various questions, delineated by age, gender, and region.
Key Findings
51% of people think TikTok will overtake Facebook.
44% of people think Facebook will fail with its change of focus to the metaverse.
42% of people believe the metaverse is a “big flop.”
60% of people aged 35 to 44 have faith in the metaverse, the most out of any demographic.
Most people older than 55 do not consider buying any Meta shares.
Men are much more likely to use Facebook’s metaverse.
Only 26% of people believe Tesla would be able to build the metaverse.
West coast people have twice as many Meta shares as those from the Southeast.
NB: You will see that some of the numbers in the tables are formatted blue (with an up arrow) or red (with a down arrow)—these indicate that the statistic in that cell is significantly above (or below) the average for all respondents.
General Opinion on the Metaverse
The first issue we analyzed within this metaverse and Facebook questionnaire dealt with the public’s general opinion on the metaverse itself.
When asked about their opinions, almost half (46%) of respondents believed the metaverse is a good idea worth exploring, a small minority (15%) had a negative opinion, while 39% had no strong opinions on the issue whatsoever.
People’s thoughts on the metaverse are more illuminating when we look at opinions based on the age distribution. Surprisingly, negative opinions on the metaverse do not vary much by age group. The group least opposed to it (ages 35 to 44) is at 13%, while those most opposed to it (65 and over) are at 19%.
However, positive reception, and the lack of either negative or positive thoughts, do vary.
The 35 to 44 age group is the most opinionated, with only 27% stating they don't have a strong opinion and 60% being in favor of the metaverse. On the other hand, more than half (57%) of the respondents of our metaverse and Facebook study for both groups older than 55 state they have no opinion.
It seems women are more likely to reserve judgment when it comes to this issue, where 47% stated they don't have an opinion, compared to 29% of men.
The majority of men (56%) have a positive opinion of the metaverse, while conversely, only a third of women (36%) believe it's a good idea.
When it comes to distribution by region, more than a third of the Southeast (38%) do not like the idea of the metaverse. On the other hand, positive opinion is relatively equally distributed among other regions, ranging from 46% to 51%, where responders from the West coast are most likely to appreciate the metaverse.
Furthermore, only 9% of respondents from the Southwest think it's a bad idea, with the Southeast (19%), the highest number, believing the same.
Thoughts on Using Facebook’s Version of the Metaverse
Next, the metaverse and Facebook survey respondents were asked about how likely (or unlikely) they would use Facebook’s version of the metaverse.
Nearly two-thirds (62%) of the respondents will use Facebook's version of the metaverse when (or if) it becomes available, while a small minority (18%) will not. Roughly 17% don't have an opinion.
The data on whether people would use Facebook’s version of the metaverse is similar to the distribution of the general opinion on the metaverse when you account for age.
Again, we see the largest preference is centered within the 35 to 44 age range (44%), with people older than 65 (16%) claiming they won't use it. And similar to the Facebook poll data on general opinions, the number of people wanting to use it increases by the age of respondents, peaking at the 35 to 44 group and then linearly dropping through the rest of the age groups.
About half (52%) of female respondents stated they are likely to use Facebook’s metaverse, whereas three-quarters of men stated the same.
Women (5%) more than men (1%) stated they didn’t have an answer to the question when asked. On not holding an opinion, the results were similar, slightly skewing towards women, comparing 19% of women to 15% of men.
Region-wise, the public opinion on Facebook shows the data is relatively equally distributed between opinions on the likelihood of using it, where the Southeast (54%) is least likely, while the Northeast (67%) is most likely to use it. The Northeast and Southeast also have the strongest opinions on using it, where the NE (40%) has the most claims on very likely usage, while the SE has (16%) the largest distribution of very unlikely usage.
Facebook’s Focus on the Metaverse
The general opinion on Facebook is shifting. In fact, interest in the social media platform is plummeting, and some people don't believe this shift in focus is a wise decision.
Almost half (44%) of the poll’s respondents believe Facebook will likely fail due to its focus on the metaverse to a lesser or greater degree. However, a quarter (27%) believe it is not unlikely.
Furthermore, a quarter (23%) believe it won't have much of an effect.
Once more, the 35 to 44 age range has the strongest opinion, where 27% believe Facebook is very likely to fail. On the other hand, the 65 and older demographic boasts the largest percentage when it comes to not having an opinion (16%), and 30% of this demographic believe it's neither likely nor unlikely.
It seems the older generations don't have much of an opinion on these issues, at least when compared to the younger generations. Furthermore, the thoughts they do have seem rather negative.
Here the numbers are very close, where 40% of women and 50% of men believe it's likely, to a greater or lesser extent, that Facebook will fail.
When it comes to the belief that this change has no effect, 27% of women and 18% of men believe it's neither likely nor unlikely. Furthermore, 9% of women stated they don't know how this will affect Facebook, compared to 4% of men.
At the same time, a large majority of non-binary responders (80%) believe it's very likely to fail.
Regional distribution is similar on all fronts for this Facebook research, with barely more than five percentage points of difference between the most extreme views. The exception is the Northeast, where 18% believe it won't have an effect, compared to the South East, where 27% believe the same.
Is Facebook Wasting Money on the Metaverse?
It's no secret Facebook has been heavily investing its resources into the metaverse. As part of our research, we have taken into account people’s opinions on whether this is a waste of money or not.
Most survey respondents (47%) believe that Facebook is wasting its money focusing on the metaverse. Conversely, a third (31%) of the respondents disagreed with that statement. Less than a quarter (22%) neither agreed nor disagreed.
When it comes to age, the data from our metaverse research shows an almost equal distribution with not much variance. However, the largest number (25%) of respondents that strongly agree Facebook is losing money is in the 35 to 44 age range. Furthermore, this age range is the lowest when it comes to not having an opinion (16%).
Men have stronger opinions on these issues, where a majority (24%) either strongly agree or (19%) strongly disagree. Women somewhat agree at 30%, nine percentage points higher than men who somewhat disagree. Furthermore, 25% of women neither agree nor disagree with the statement, compared to 18% of men.
It seems that women’s opinions are more negative of the metaverse compared to men, and they are also more likely to reserve judgment and have less extreme views.
Here we see another example of little variance between states, with only a couple of percentage points of difference in values. The only exception where the lowest number of people who strongly believe that Facebook is not wasting its money is found in the Southeast demographic.
Opinions on Buying and Owning Meta Shares
Our Facebook and Meta survey shows interesting results when talking about owning and buying Meta shares.
It seems people are more likely (47%) to buy Meta shares than not (33%). It's also interesting to note that 10% of the respondents already have Meta shares.
Unsurprisingly, and in accordance with previous data points, the 35 to 44 age range is most interested in Meta shares, having the highest percentage of current share ownership (15%) and highest reported future consideration of buying them (62%).
Furthermore, interest in buying Meta shares increases with age, where 35% of the 18 to 24 demographic would consider buying some, and 56% of the 25 to 34 demographic would do the same, followed by 62% in the 35 to 44 age range.
However, the older the survey demographics get after the 35 to 44 range, the lower the opinion, where among the 65+ age group, only 1% own shares, and only 15% would consider buying them.
One factor behind this information might be the amount of disposable income an age group could have and the willingness to invest it in shares.
Men have a more favorable view of buying Meta shares than women. Twice as many male respondents own shares already compared to women, and significantly more (57% of men vs. 39% of women) would consider buying them.
Furthermore, women were twice as likely (13% compared to 7%) to respond with “I don't know.”
Unsurprisingly, our Meta shares research shows that the West coast, home to Silicon Valley, reports the highest number of Meta share ownership (14%) and the greatest consideration for buying shares (55%). Conversely, the Southeast, which has been consistent in its distrust towards Facebook and the metaverse within our research, reports the lowest share ownership (7%) and the lowest consideration of buying shares (38%).
The Contest Between TikTok and Facebook
TikTok achieved massive success in just a short time. In fact, if its growth remains consistent, TikTok might overtake Facebook in just four years.
Taking this into consideration, we have prompted our poll participants on their thoughts on the matter.
A quarter (24%) of the respondents from the survey stated they don't think TikTok will overtake Facebook in the next five years. More than half (51%), however, believe it's very likely it will. Around 18% say it's neither likely nor unlikely.
When it comes to the age ranges, it seems older people don't believe TikTok will take over, where 20% of the 65+ generation think it's somewhat unlikely, and 18% of the 55 to 64 group claiming it's very unlikely.
The 35 to 44 age range has the most faith in TikTok taking over, where 59% believe it's likely, to a lesser or greater extent.
On the other hand, 18-to-24-year-olds, when answering our metaverse and Facebook survey questions, believed the most (26%) that it is neither likely nor unlikely TikTok will take over.
When it comes to strong opinions, 26% of men, and 19% of women, believe it's very likely that Tik Tok will take over. However, when it comes to all other statements, in terms of both likeliness and unlikeliness, they are very similar.
Female respondents have, however, stated that they (9%) don't know, compared to only 3% of men.
When it comes to people’s opinions on TikTok taking over Facebook within the next five years, the distribution is relatively equal among all regions. When asked how likely it is, 25% of people from the Southwest said it's very likely, compared to 20% from the West and the Midwest.
The Metaverse and Its (Potential) Success
Opinions on the metaverse can be controversial, to say the least. In our metaverse poll, we attempted to concretize these opinions and see what people actually think.
More people (42%) believe that the concept of the metaverse is “just a big flop” than those that don't (32%). However, a significant portion (27%) neither agree nor disagree with that statement.
The number of people that most strongly agree (22%) and disagree (16%) that the metaverse will flop both falls into the 35 to 44 age range. The 25 to 34 age group seems equally distributed on all points on the agreement scale.
People older than 45 seem to have the weakest opinions on this issue in our Facebook and metaverse survey. Around 33% of respondents between 45 to 54 neither agree nor disagree that the metaverse is a flop, as do 37% of 55 to 64, and almost half (45%) of the 65+ demographic.
However, the 18 to 24 group also doesn't have an opinion, with 35% stating they neither agree nor disagree with the statement.
45% of men believe that the metaverse will flop, which is a slightly greater number than women (40%). However, when it comes to the belief that the metaverse is a good idea, men (18%) have more confidence than women (10%).
Furthermore, 32% of women reserved judgment, less than men, at 20%.
People in the Northeast (23%) strongly believe the metaverse will flop, while people in the Southeast (32%) neither agree nor disagree.
Trust in Other Companies Building Metaverses
Some companies are already making efforts toward joining the metaverse already. However, building it is a whole nother matter. Our metaverse survey included people’s opinions on which companies they believe would be able to build the metaverse properly (if any).
It seems people trust Facebook (53%) and Google (51%) the most when it comes to building the metaverse. Very few, however, trust Tesla (26%) and Tencent (20%).
It's important to note that 15% of the respondents stated they don't trust any of the above-listed companies to perform this task.
It seems Gen Z trusts Google (52%) and Apple (47%) the most to build the metaverse, whereas, Millenials trust Facebook (54%) and Apple (50%) the most.
The 35 to 44 group has the most trust in Facebook (63%) and shares the younger generations' faith in Apple (50%). The 45 to 54 demographic trusts Facebook (47%), but a strong portion of this group believes in none of the listed companies (21%).
Almost half (48%) of the 55 to 64 group trusts Google, but a negative metaverse opinion among this group still persists, and 26% of the people in this group believe no one can build a successful metaverse.
Finally, those older than 65 mostly (40%) believe none of them can do it. However, of all the listed companies, the greatest number (35%) from this age group trust Facebook the most.
Women don't put much faith in any of the noted companies building the metaverse. Around 20% of them claim none of these companies can do it, compared to 8% of men.
In every other aspect, men believe in every company more than women. Men believe that Facebook (62%) and Google (57%) are most likely to do it, while women put Google first (47%) and Facebook second (46%), according to our metaverse study.
People claiming non-binary or alternative gender identities believe none of the above companies can build the metaverse by a wide margin of 80%.
There are very slight differences between regions, with some exceptions (as is the case for the rest of our regional data). Around 21% of the survey respondents coming from the Southeast believe no one can do it, the largest margin, while only 8% from the West believe the same.
The largest differences seem directed towards Amazon and Apple, where only 37% of the Southeast don't trust them, compared to the rest, which ranges between 44% and 51%, as well as the SE putting the least trust in Amazon, at 31%.
Survey Description
As we’ve mentioned, our Facebook survey from 2022 included 2,000 US adults. The polled individuals vary by gender, age, and location.
Of this number, more than a third (35%) were between the ages of 35 to 44. The lowest number of respondents (7%) were in the 18 to 24 age range, and the second lowest (8%) were 65 and over.
The data slightly skew toward the middle, while the youngest and the oldest age groups are the least represented.
The survey data is relatively even but not precisely equal when it comes to gender. As you can see in the data above, 56% of survey respondents were male, and 44% were female.
One of our Facebook and metaverse survey questions prompted the participants about the US region they live in. The Midwest, the Northeast, and the Southeast are relatively equally distributed, representing, respectfully, 23%, 24%, and 23% of all respondents. However, 13% came from the Southwest, and 17% from the West, leading to somewhat lower representation for those areas.
