Brave New World: How the Metaverse May Shape Our Psychology
In a book published in 1962 called Diffusion of Innovations, communications theorist Everett Rogers presented a most convincing theory of how innovation spreads and comes to be accepted by users over a period of time. He posited that any new product is initially used only by a small number of innovators, followed by a slightly larger group of early adopters and then the majority.
References
- Robertson, T. S. (1967). The process of innovation and the diffusion of innovation. Journal of marketing, 31(1), 14-19.
- https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/facebook-company-is-now-meta/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/19/microsoft-activision-what-satya-nadella-has-said-about-the-metaverse.html
- https://fortune.com/2022/03/16/hsbc-buys-land-in-metaverse-joins-jpmorgan-decentraland-sandbox/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/03/how-the-1992-sci-fi-novel-snow-crash-predicted-facebooks-metaverse.html
- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/apple-teases-metaverse-ar-plans-stock-jumps/articleshow/89169214.cms
- https://www.matthewball.vc/all/forwardtothemetaverseprimer
- Suler, J. (2004). The online disinhibition effect. Cyberpsychology & behavior, 7(3), 321-326.
- https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-60314572
- Cinelli, M., Morales, G. D. F., Galeazzi, A., Quattrociocchi, W., & Starnini, M. (2021). The echo chamber effect on social media. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(9).
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/26/facebook-algorithm-conservative-liberal-extremes/
- https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/echo-chambers-filter-bubbles-and-polarisation-literature-review
- https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-meta-metaverse-splinter-reality-more-2021-11
- https://www.pacteraedge.com/why-metaverse-must-be-mindful
- Lowry, P. B., Zhang, J., Wang, C., & Siponen, M. (2016). Why do adults engage in cyberbullying on social media? An integration of online disinhibition and deindividuation effects with the social structure and social learning model. Information Systems Research, 27(4), 962-986.
- Herring, S. C., & Kapidzic, S. (2015). Teens, gender, and self-presentation in social media. International encyclopedia of social and behavioral sciences, 2, 1-16.
- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/14/facebook-aware-instagram-harmful-effect-teenage-girls-leak-reveals
- https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/05/style/teen-bodybuilding-bigorexia-tiktok.html
- Macït, H. B., Macït, G., & Güngör, O. (2018). A research on social media addiction and dopamine driven feedback. Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 5(3), 882-897.
- https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/
About the Author
Preeti Kotamarthi
Preeti Kotamarthi has built and led Behavioral Science teams at two of the largest tech companies in Southeast Asia and India. She established the Behavioral Science practice at Grab, helping product and design teams understand customer behavior to create better user experiences. Currently, she heads Behavioral Science and User Research at Swiggy, where she continues to blend data, design, and human insights—drawing inspiration from spending a lot of time with Indian consumers. With a Masters in Behavioral Science from the London School of Economics and an MBA in Marketing from FMS Delhi, Preeti brings over 12 years of experience in consumer products, from co-founding a rural startup in India to shaping behavioral design in tech. Her passion lies in making behavioral science a core part of the product development process. When she’s not uncovering human insights at work, she’s likely busy applying behavioral lessons on her two-year-old.
About us
We are the leading applied research & innovation consultancy
Our insights are leveraged by the most ambitious organizations
“
I was blown away with their application and translation of behavioral science into practice. They took a very complex ecosystem and created a series of interventions using an innovative mix of the latest research and creative client co-creation. I was so impressed at the final product they created, which was hugely comprehensive despite the large scope of the client being of the world's most far-reaching and best known consumer brands. I'm excited to see what we can create together in the future.
Heather McKee
BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST
GLOBAL COFFEEHOUSE CHAIN PROJECT
OUR CLIENT SUCCESS
$0M
Annual Revenue Increase
By launching a behavioral science practice at the core of the organization, we helped one of the largest insurers in North America realize $30M increase in annual revenue.
0%
Increase in Monthly Users
By redesigning North America's first national digital platform for mental health, we achieved a 52% lift in monthly users and an 83% improvement on clinical assessment.
0%
Reduction In Design Time
By designing a new process and getting buy-in from the C-Suite team, we helped one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world reduce software design time by 75%.
0%
Reduction in Client Drop-Off
By implementing targeted nudges based on proactive interventions, we reduced drop-off rates for 450,000 clients belonging to USA's oldest debt consolidation organizations by 46%