Meeting ourselves or other sides of us?—Meta-analysis of the Metaverse

Abstract

We were promised that the Metaverse would revolutionize our lives, social interactions, work, and business. However, how and when will this happen? We have seen the growth and development of technology, but there is no agreement or prediction about a specific time, and we can only follow the how question. To investigate more leads about this concept, we considered a main research question: How is the Metaverse actually being perceived? This question is connected with three objectives: to verify how the Metaverse is being represented and characterized, identify the main dimensions that facilitate or influence the acceptance of the Metaverse, and identify the leading technologies that suit the Metaverse concept. This study consisted of a documental analysis—or meta-analysis—of fifty of the most relevant scientific papers (taking into account some inclusion criteria) published in the last three years, using the Leximancer software to create concept maps to illustrate the main concepts and themes extracted from the articles to understand their associations or relations with the Metaverse concept. This study provided us with essential findings about how this concept has been perceived and allowed us to answer our objectives, contributing to a scientific discussion on the topic, and providing some valid suggestions for future research, which is already in progress. It also provided new leads on approaching this concept in development.