I am Not Shy Anymore: How User-Avatar Discrepancy Impacts Escapism, Enjoyment, and Sport Engagement in the Metaverse

Abstract

Despite growing interest in the metaverse, a lack of theory-driven investigations remains regarding how it influences real-world behavior. This study aimed to examine the effects of user-avatar discrepancy, escapism, enjoyment, and shyness on users’ real-world sport engagement, integrating self-discrepancy and escapism theories. A total of 422 metaverse sports users participated in the study. The hypothesized models tested the mediating roles of escapism and enjoyment (both individually and sequentially) and the moderating role of shyness in the relationship between user-avatar discrepancy and sport engagement. Results indicated that escapism and enjoyment were significant mediators, while shyness significantly moderated the mediation effect through escapism and the serial mediation effect through escapism and enjoyment. These findings provide empirical evidence for the transformative role of escapism and the conditional effects of shyness in driving real-world behavioral engagement through metaverse experiences. The current study offers valuable insights for researchers and practitioners seeking to understand the factors contributing to engaging metaverse-based sports programs.