Metaverse-Driven Cultural Communication: A Case Study of Digital Heritage Experiences in Sharjah

Abstract

General context: The growing humanization of immersive digital platforms, such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Metaverse experiences, is changing the process of communicating, accessing, and experiencing cultural heritage globally. The technologies will provide new opportunities in the area of improving the interaction with the population, heritage education, and cultural preservation without being restricted by the physical locations. Limitations: Although these interest levels are on the rise globally, there is still very little empirical evidence regarding perceptions of the populace, user acceptance and contextual issues in the Arab world. Namely, the gap is in the regionally-based research that investigates the experience of digital and metaverse-based heritage platforms by various publics in culturally particular contexts, including the United Arab Emirates. Method: To fill this gap, the present study is based on a mixed-method case study on the subject of digital heritage experiences in Sharjah. To measure accessibility, pattern of engagement, perceived benefits and limitations, quantitative data were gathered by surveying 317 respondents using snowball and purposive sampling. The qualitative data were obtained in the form of a focus group comprising eight students and educators, which allowed exploring the issue of experiential use, motivations, and barriers in depth. This is analysed using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Constructivist Learning Theory. Results: The results show that the attitude towards the metaverse-based cultural communication is rather positive but sceptical. The participants appreciated the opportunity of immersive learning, increased accessibility, and the possibility of preservation, and voiced concerns connected to authenticity, the inclusivity of languages, digital inequality, cost, and data privacy. The involvement was moderate and intermittent and younger and better educated users showed more acceptance and confidence in digital heritage technologies. Implications These findings indicate that the effective implementation of the Metaverse technologies within the cultural communication process requires not only the technical innovation but also the culturally oriented design, non-exclusive approach to access, and favouring institutional and policy environments.