Why Most Teens Prefer IRL To Virtual Worlds
Yesterday MediaWeek reported on the shakeout that’s been happening in the virtual world space including the demise of worlds like vSide and reporting that MTV is reevaluating its virtual world strategy. Whenever I’m moderating a teen panel and ask about whether teens have visited virtual worlds, most say “no,” but one or two recognize or have visited popular worlds like Gaia or Habbo.
While I don’t think this shakeout will be limited to the worlds in the teen space (there are just too many indie kids worlds out there for all of them to survive), I think the idea that this market is more limited for teens is worth noting. Popular worlds like IMVU, WeeWorld, Gaia and Habbo all have healthy numbers of users (a mix of teens AND adults), but I don’t see any of these worlds achieving the mass adoption levels of social networking among teens. Here’s why…
Most teens are too busy. Between school, after school activities, homework and spending time with friends in real life, internet time is typically spent social networking, dealing with email, looking stuff up for school, checking out videos and listening to music (some of which is being done while relaxing in front of the TV). Virtual worlds take effort to customize and maintain your avatar and virtual space, figure out who’s online, play a game or attend an event, etc. It’s less utilitarian and more of an immersive experience. Add the mobility factor (when teens start driving or just going out more), combined with social networks and phones meeting the need for coordinating these outings, and hanging out in virtual worlds again takes a back seat.
If you’re a console gamer, virtual worlds are too social/less directed. For teens who game, walking or flying around a virtual world that is fairly self directed, i.e. you find stuff to do, people to chat with, just pales in comparison to the heavily scripted console games you’re used to, and some, like Halo, that have a social element, or even online games like World of Warcraft that are more self or group directed, but have a definite focus vs. just hanging out. As the article pointed out, for those gamers looking to just socialize, now there are worlds for gamers like Sony’s Home you can access via your console. I do think Teen Second Life appeals to a small niche of mostly male teen scripters who enjoy the creativity of being able to invent their own virtual goods and spaces.
They might feel too babyish or childlike Now we have teens who might have been Club Penguin tweens. Either way, the notion of playing with avatars, may feel a bit like… “playing” or experimenting with identity in a way that is more make believe than the “real” ways you can express what you’re into on sites like Facebook or MySpace.
Social networks have gotten stickier. As the article states, “…social networking—once viewed as static compared to virtual worlds—has only gotten more dynamic (apps, games) and sticky.” For teens who want to play a casual game, they’re all over social networks. Virtual goods are gaining steam there, too, and, lots of sites allow you to port over your avatar if you’re into that.
There will always be teens and adults who want to play in this virtual world space and will invest the time in these communities. Definitely enough to allow the most popular worlds to stay in business. But it will never be a mass audience. I see lots of value in using these spaces in education. And while MTV’s experiments in pairing worlds with popular shows like “The Hills” may have proved hard to sustain over time, I think partnering with popular worlds and holding virtual events for fans in those worlds that are social viewing experiences, seems well worth continuing.