Zepeto Game: An avatar for platform promoting western lifestyle

Abstract

Metaverse, a hypothetical iteration of the Internet, is the result of the convergence of industry and imagination, which allows users to have a three-dimensional and immersive presence there with their avatars, and a kind of dual specialization of life experience in the real world and digital environments. Games are the pioneers of the metaverse and by combining simulation and intimate technologies, they form virtual worlds. Zepeto is the largest metaverse platform in South Korea with users from all over the world. With the increasing popularity of Korean wave products such as K-pop among Iranian teenagers, Zepeto has become a popular game among them. Based on this, two issues have been addressed in this exploratory article. First, in the framework of the technology acceptance model, the focus is on the user experience in Zepeto and the study of the determining factors that affect the willingness of Iranian users to play in Zepeto. Second, based on Zepeto's content format, the challenges of this platform for its Iranian users have been examined. The target population in this research is Iranian users of Zepeto, and with the Simple Random Sampling method, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 40 Zepeto users. The findings show that Zepeto is a promoter of western lifestyle in the field of entertainment and based on its capacity to shape the taste and attitude and behavior of Iranian users, it provides a window for cultivating a non-Islamic lifestyle.

Keywords

• metaverse
• islamic culture
• zepeto
• online games
• technology acceptance model
• avatar