The mirror of the metaverse: an exploration of reciprocal effects between self-views and avatar-based self-presentation

Abstract This study examined how users’ self-views (i.e., identity coherence, identity confusion, self-esteem) and their self-presentation through avatars (i.e., the number of avatars used, self-avatar dissimilarity, the frequency of and the expenditure on avatar customization) in the metaverse mutually influence each other, based on a three-wave panel survey of Zepeto users in South Korea (N = 640). Dynamic fixed-effects models yielded no significant effects of self-views on avatar-based self-presentation, but identified some significant reverse relationships: users who spent more money on customizing their avatars’ appearance experienced greater identity confusion and lower self-esteem two months later. By contrast, contemporaneous fixed-effects models found no significant effects in either direction. Overall, the results indicate limited unidirectional effects of avatar-based identity experimentation on users’ self-views that manifest over time, while casting doubt on the permeability between virtual and physical self-identities.