Abstract
Social media sites, such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, are increasingly interconnected with the metaverse, which has forged a new digital connection between the users and community-building platforms. The increased accessibility of social media via smartphones provides opportunities for greater social interaction and facilitates users’ interaction online. As the metaverse and social media sites become increasingly connected it presents opportunities for the users to make new digital connections and socialize virtually. This study employs the Big Five personality theory to empirically test how the personality traits of Generation-Z impact on their intentions to socialize using innovative technology (metaverse). With Personal Innovation and Hedonic Motivation as moderators, we use a mixed-methods approach that employs a qualitative (n = 24) and quantitative study (n = 436) to understand why Generation-Z is inclined to use the metaverse for socializing. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling analyse the data statistically. Results show that Openness has the highest impact on users’ intention to adopt the metaverse, followed by Extraversion and Agreeableness. Personal Innovation and Hedonic Motivation variables present evidence of positive moderation with the personality traits. Further, generation differences between cohorts and users’ personalities affects their willingness to adopt the metaverse.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2132-2150 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Psychology and Marketing |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| Early online date | 5 Jul 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright © 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article:G, S., Chakraborty, D., Polisetty, A., Khorana, S., & Buhalis, D. (2023). Use of metaverse in socializing: Application of the big five personality traits framework. Psychology & Marketing, 1– 19., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21863. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.Keywords
- Big Five personality trait theory
- Hedonic motivation
- community-building
- metaverse
- personal innovation
- social media
- virtual socializing