Digitally obsessed teens are a target market for companies selling virtual reality headsets that transport users into entirely new worlds. But it turns out, the younger set isn’t particularly interested—even though tech companies are spending billions on VR.
Very few teens use VR devices daily, according to a study published Tuesday by investment bank Piper Sandler. The bank surveyed over 5,600 U.S. teens and found that close to a third of them owned VR devices, but only 4% use them every day and only 14% use them every week.
“To us, the lukewarm usage demonstrates that VR remains ‘early days’ and that these devices are less important than smartphones,” Piper Sandler analysts said in their report.
The report noted that between the second half of last year and now, use of VR devices has remained flat. Compared to the same time last year, use has actually dropped to 14% compared to 17%.
Piper Sandler’s results reflect the relatively slow adoption of VR among younger people given that 95% of teens in the U.S. own smartphones and 80% own gaming consoles, according to Pew Research.
Still, companies like Facebook parent Meta are pouring billions of dollars into VR and augmented reality, which involves overlaying virtual effects on the real world.
Big VR push—but what for?
