Article Preview
TopIntroduction
The metaverse has gained continuous investment and attention since 2020 due to technological advancements and social transformations (Anderson & Rainie, 2022). Even though a consensus regarding the metaverse definition has not yet been reached, the metaverse vision has been clarified. The metaverse enables the creation of digital twins of the real world. These two worlds can be integrated into several domains of life (Lee & Kim, 2022). Furthermore, the metaverse is a new generation of internet and social media that completely changes how users work, communicate, and live (Nesbo, 2021). The metaverse is a 3D virtual world where users can interact and communicate with others in a virtual environment using objects and digital avatars (Dhawan, 2020; Stöhr et al., 2020). The metaverse adopts immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) (Mystakidis, 2022). These integrated technologies allow multimodal interaction of the metaverse with virtual world and digital avatars, thereby minimizing the drawbacks of two-dimensional (2D) platforms. In 3D platforms, XR provides superior spatial and auditory experiences compared to 2D systems (Hong et al., 2017). The spatial sound distribution creates a greater immersion level and acts as a robust medium to attract user attention (Mystakidis, 2022). XR not only provides sensory input but also enables active interactions between users and digital virtual objects using wearable devices and motion controllers (Maereg et al., 2010). These services and capabilities allow users to be active rather than passive learners in their educational experiences (Mystakidis, 2022). Hence, the metaverse improves users’ self-perceptions and fosters their learning culture of inclusion (Mystakidis, 2021).
The metaverse is powered by the rapid advancement of several technologies such as blockchain, 5G/6G internet broadband, artificial intelligence (AI), AR, and VR. Additionally, the current metaverse application has made progress in terms of affordability and scope compared with prior VR environments. Lee and Kim (2022) highlight this progress, which can be seen in mobile access, socially immersive experiences, and the boundaries fading between both virtual and real worlds. The metaverse global market was 38.85 billion USD in 2021 (Grand View Research, 2022). This shows the huge demand for metaverse systems that can be applied in several aspects of daily life.
The metaverse can be utilized in several fields including economics, cultural studies, politics, and education (Choi et al., 2018). The metaverse’s use in the educational sector has been realized in some countries and has led to improvements in learners’ performance (Barry et al., 2009; Shin & Kim, 2021). However, the factors affecting the acceptance of metaverse remain unknown. Previous studies have applied the technology acceptance model (TAM) to assess factors influencing the acceptance of metaverse (İbili et al, 2022; Jeong & Kim, 2023; Pan et al., 2023; Wu & Yu, 2023). However, the theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) has received little attention. UTAUT is a powerful and well-developed theory explaining technology acceptance (Chao, 2019; Momani, 2020). To the best of our knowledge, previous studies have not applied UTAUT to examine the metaverse in the Arab context, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, as metaverse use in education is a new phenomenon, knowledge regarding the factors impacting the acceptance and adoption of the metaverse among students is lacking. This study fills this gap by investigating the factors affecting the adoption and acceptance of the metaverse for education among students in Saudi Arabia.