Who Is Invited to the Metaverse? Analyzing Media Coverage of an Emerging Virtual World

Abstract

As a new technology awaiting widespread immersive usage, public awareness and understanding of the metaverse is likely significantly shaped by its coverage in the media. This study explored how the metaverse is framed in U.S. news media coverage, including who the media targets as metaverse users, and reflects on how this could shape public attitudes and engagement with the metaverse. Specifically, this study asked: which people and institutions are included and excluded from media coverage of the metaverse? To answer this question, a systematic content analysis of 526 U.S. news articles was conducted, drawing from three media databases. Findings reveal that the media frames the metaverse as a corporate space for those with buying power: investors, technology experts, and consumers. Users without buying power and users from marginalized groups were rarely considered in media coverage. Despite this, most coverage of the metaverse was descriptive, with only 11 percent of articles critiquing this space. These findings raise broad questions about commodification, exclusion, and inequality in the metaverse.