# Digital Art and the Metaverse: Benefits and Challenges
## 4 Results
### To What Extent Will the Metaverse Be Beneficial for Artists?  
At a consumer level, Figure 4 demonstrates that 51% of the participants would grade the future market potential for virtual art galleries in the Metaverse positively, with 30% neutral towards the notion. As discussed, the use of NFTs is expected to have the potential to create value through scarcity [13]. Interestingly, however, in this study only 28.4% of the participants indicated that they want to be the sole owner of the AI-generated paintings, while 77.6% indicated to be not interested in owning the artwork. This finding contradicts previous research findings, displaying that NFTs are important for consumers in the context of digital art ownership, showing an 8% annual increase in value of artworks [13; 35]. Thus, in a digital context, the significance of owning AI-generated digital art appears to be lower compared to in the physical world.  
To further explore consumers' perceptions on the benefits of the Metaverse for artists, we include the qualitative responses from question 14, _'To what extent do you think the Metaverse will be beneficial (or not beneficial) for artists?'_. In Table 5, we reflect on a sample of the positive and negative comments provided by the participants. Overall, qualitative responses were provided by \(n=51\) of the participants, with \(n=7\) providing no response and \(n=9\) saying that they did not know.  
Figure 4: Likert scores for questions 5 and 10 previously outlined in Table 3.  
Figure 3: Likert scores for questions 3, 4 and 6 previously outlined in Table 3.  
Overall, \(n=25\) written responses were positive regarding the notion, with \(n=7\) negative and a further \(n=17\) offering a balanced or mixed response. However, in viewing the answers it must be noted that \(n=43\) of the participants had previously not visited a virtual art gallery before completing the survey (yet this question was given after experiencing the gallery outlined in Section 3), with \(n=19\) saying that they had previously done so and \(n=5\) not sure if they had or not. Consumers evidently link advantages, such as ease of use, wider customer access, sources of inspiration, sharing prospects and accessibility for non-professionals to the utilisation of AI-generated art in the Metaverse.  
Another remarkable benefit identified is that the technology nexus is recognised as having the potential to produce benefits beyond storytelling and entertainment. This is in line with previous research, as [PERSON] et al. discussed the '_impacts of visiting art museums on well-being outcomes, such as stress, emotional well-being, and feelings of connection. Within psychology, meanwhile, scholars have examined the role cultural engagement plays in depression, anxiety, and global well-being..._' [11]. Further, other physical benefits were also identified by the survey participants when responding to question 14, with one participant stating that the technology '_will help people who do not have the physical ability to do a painting or a 3d object create art. And for people that are already artists, it may help them generating different ideas_'. Thus, within this domain, we can also consider the integration of more advanced haptic devices for interaction and disability support for the design and creation of digital artefacts. For instance, combining this technology with haptic gloves may be of use in the future to enhance the experience of people with vision impairment in the Metaverse, an approach that is already being investigated for use with immersive video by [PERSON] et al. [42].