Attachment to real-world places and willingness to migrate to metaverse virtual worlds

Abstract

People are increasingly spending time in virtual places. In the future, the opportunities offered by digital worlds may provide an additional incentive for virtual migration, which may be much easier and similarly gratifying compared to physical migration. The metaverse is a new virtual world where individuals can explore, express themselves, and interact with others in ways that may not be possible in the physical world. In three studies (NStudy 1a = 1056; NStudy1b = 670; NStudy2 = 1250), we examined whether emotional bonds with real places predict intention to migrate to the metaverse. The results show that two different factors predict willingness to migrate to the metaverse: 1) traditional attachment to real places, i.e. unwillingness to leave one's physical place of residence and 2) a lack of attachment to any real-world place. Active attachment was negatively related to willingness to migrate to the metaverse. However, in two studies, this relation was non-significant when other types of people–place relations were included in the models. We also investigated how place attachment types are associated with real-world and virtual migration intentions. Our study contributes to the literature on the relationship between attachment to real-world places and willingness to use virtual worlds.