The Impact of Flow Experience and Personality Type on the Intention to Use Virtual World

Virtual World (VW) had gained and lost its popularity over the past decades. Although people were initially excited about the potential of such technology, the original excitement has not been maintained and the VW has lost its reputation. We design an experimental study to learn about the factors that impact the intention to use or not use VW (i.e., Second Life, SL). Our proposed model is based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, Technology Acceptance Model, Embodied Social Presence theory, Flow theory, and Jungian personality theory. Over 160 students participated in this study and the results support our proposed model, where a positive flow experience with VW influences the attitude towards VW, in turn influencing intention to use VW. Furthermore, VW flow experience can itself be impacted by personality of the individuals behind the avatars in VW, perceived peer influence, perceived usefulness, and familiarity with VW.