Is there an age skew for using VR Headsets? (MetaFAQs)

Is there an age skew for using VR Headsets?

metafacts-metafaqs-mq0047-480-cexage-2017-02-02_11-00-09Virtual reality hasn’t reached market reality, despite decades of experimentation and overhyped false starts. Recent investment has brought renewed attention, hope, and development to the prospects of widespread VR use. Based on our TUP 2016 US survey, only 2% of connected adults are actively using a VR headset, such as the Oculus Rift or Samsung Gear VR. This modest acceptance rate is only part of the research finding, though, as there is more that can be learned from the early adopters.

Virtual Reality headset adoption is led by youngish, but not the youngest, adults. Adults age 25-39 have the highest rates of VR Headset usage.
Adults age 30-34 have the strongest usage rates – at 5%. Slightly older adults – age 35-39 – have the next-highest usage rate. metafacts-metafaqs-mq0047-480cexage-age-skew-vr-usage-by-age-group-2017-02-02_11-11-03
In addition to their quest for fun and convenience, these age groups are in some of the most-active life stages, with the highest levels of presence of children, full-time employment and household income. These sociological factors correlate strongly with higher demand for home entertainment, game consoles, game-playing, and gaming desktops and notebooks.
Looking ahead, we expect this age group to continue as the strongest users of VR Headsets. While there are exciting commercial developments, from training simulations to rapid prototyping, we expect these VR applications to reach fewer employees than consumers for VR Headsets.

This is based on our most recent research among 7,336 US adults as part of the Technology User Profile (TUP) 2016 survey.

This MetaFAQs research result addresses one of the many questions profiling active technology users.

Many other related research answers are part of the TUP service, available to paid subscribers. The TUP sections with the most information about VR Headsets, age skews, and Entertainment Activities are the TUP 2016 Wearable Technology Section, Age Ranges Section, and Entertainment Activities Section.

These MetaFAQs are brought to you by MetaFacts, based on research results from their most-recent wave of Technology User Profile (TUP).

For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.