User Approaches to Ethical Issues in Metaverse Environments: Application of the Q Methodology

Buğra Çavuşoğlu; Kadriye Kobak

doi:10.26468/trakyasobed.2025101

ABSTRACT

With the adoption of metaverse environments, daily life practices have undergone transformations, while interpersonal communication processes have occurred primarily through metaverse environments and virtual worlds. Given the intensive use of metaverse and ongoing transition to digitalization, ethical problems within digital environments have also become relatively intense. This study aims to identify potential ethical issues within metaverse environments from the perspectives of participants. Toward this end, semistructed interviews were conducted with 30 experts in the field to determine their approaches to these ethical issues. The study employed case study as a qualitative research design. To generate the question pool required for the Q methodology, a literature review was conducted prior to the interviews. Based on the data obtained after the interviews, questions were prepared. The results revealed four approaches: emphasizing the importance of data use and storage among system developers, highlighting the significanceof users’ personal awareness and systemic measures, advocating for the cautious use of metaverse environments, and sustaining this caution over time.

Keywords:

Metaverse, ethics, Q Methodology, user experience, digital technologies

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