Is seeing the same as doing? An evaluation of vicarious experiences in the metaverse

Abstract

With the recent explosion of vicarious experiences in the metaverse (e.g. twitch, YouTube gaming, Facebook gaming, etc.), understanding the underlying mechanism of this phenomenon is key for researchers and practitioners. This research examines the rising phenomenon of vicarious experiences within the metaverse. Using a three-study experimental approach, results show that subjects attain equal levels of embodied social presence (ESP) whether passively viewing or actively engaging with the metaverse. Since embodied social presence is a combination of activity theory and social presence, theory would suggest it cannot occur in purely vicarious experiences that do not involve direct engagement; however, our findings contradict both theory and previous research. Given these findings, we suggest users seek vicarious experiences not just to experience content they enjoy, but to have perceptually similar experiences as those actively participating in the metaverse.