Cracking the Code: What Drives and Hinders VR Adoption in Adolescents
January 5th, 2024
Despite being touted as the next frontier for the younger generation, visitor data reveals that only 15.8% of users fall within the 16-25 age group, ranking it as only the third most popular demographic. This unexpected statistic contradicts existing literature, which often portrays this age bracket as a key player in the realm of Virtual Reality (VR).
What factors drive or hinder adolescents in embracing VR? Are there unique opportunities and challenges within educational and entertainment VR? To answer these questions, a comprehensive survey involving 454 third-grade students was conducted, employing the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2.
The survey, featuring live data collection, was carried out by a team of 10 Masters Students from the University of Ghent. The study shed light on a diverse group with 32% male and 66.2% female respondents the majority of whom hadn’t ventured into the world of VR.
The participants were divided into two groups, each given a specific context for VR – entertainment or education. To explain each of the contexts students were shown demonstrators of VR lessons in science or an entertainment game (i.e., Beatsaber).
In terms of the education scenario, the data analysis showed that the factors that influence the potential use of VR positively were social influence, attitude towards VR, habit and performance expectancy.
Peer pressure emerges as a potent influencer, with students more inclined to embrace VR when they sense social expectations from their peers. Positive attitudes towards VR, coupled with a favourable evaluation of its role in education, significantly boosted students' intentions to adopt this immersive technology. Habit formation played a predictable yet pivotal role, as habitual use seemed to amplify students' likelihood of continued VR integration in educational settings. Lastly, the belief in the benefits of VR for academic pursuits proved to be a driving force for VR adoption rates.
When it comes to using VR for entertainment, we found that students were more likely to want to use VR if they found it enjoyable and if they thought using it wouldn't be too difficult. However, the belief that VR would improve their performance didn't affect their decision to use it for entertainment.
In addition to the rest of the factors that we already listed in the education model, we saw two new features emerging. First, the anticipation of an enjoyable experience significantly boosted student's intention to use it. On the flip side, those expecting VR to be easy to use showed a decreased intention to adopt it. The interplay between expectations of enjoyment and perceived ease of use shapes the landscape of VR adoption, revealing the crucial role these factors play in influencing user intentions.
In this evolving landscape, our insights provide a nuanced understanding for entertainment companies, educators and policymakers seeking to effectively increase the adoption rates of VR.
This survey was carried out by Mary Shah, Nikita De Paepe, Alexander Heerinckx, Wout Vermeir, Lucas Dieleman, Michiel Hielegems, Gill Van Impe, Sam Engels, Leonie Schoofs and Siebe Van de Velde as a part of the ExperienceTwin TETRA project.
You can find the full report here.