Metaverse? Meh!

A large majority of consumers in the UK say they have never heard of or are bored by Web3 (89 percent) and the Metaverse (84 percent), according to a new study.

Research from digital agency Studio Graphene surveyed 2,000 UK adults and finds technologies that hit the market more than a decade ago have high levels of consumer understanding and use, but this drops off sharply when looking at more recent innovations.

Ritam Ghandi, founder and director of Studio Graphene, says, "The tech industry has a remarkable and enduring drive towards the new and novel. This pursuit of constant innovation is the lifeblood which feeds the sector's growth. However, as businesses look to make the most of eye-catching new technologies, it is worth considering whether consumers are traveling in the same direction."

The study shows products such as live streaming (94 percent), instant messaging (63 percent), text to speech and voice recognition (52 percent) are familiar to and are used by consumers. But there's a steep decline when it comes to emerging technologies such as Web3 (11 percent) and IoT (16 percent), with consumers disinterested in embracing new products.

Ghandi adds:

The products consumers find most exciting should provide a blueprint for innovation. Past innovations that have a strong market foothold have clear use cases - such as text-to-speech and video-conferencing adding accessibility and ease to the way we communicate, and live-streaming giving consumers freedom in their entertainment options. Similarly, the emerging products which inspire the most excitement -- AI and AR/VR -- already have well-articulated use cases.

Like the last and current generation, it is clear that much-vaunted emerging products such as Web3, IoT and Metaverse will need to communicate everyday utility if they are to grow from exciting prospects to genuinely innovative products.

We've reported before that businesses are wary of the Metaverse and Web3 for security reasons, but it seems that most consumers simply aren't bothered.

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