Who Am I ? Identity in Metaverse and the “Dividual” Concept

From Individual to Dividual

Have you heard of the concept of “dividual” ? The term “dividual” originates from the 2012 book 《What Am I? From ‘Individual’ to ‘Dividual’ 》(私とは何か――「個人」から「分人」へ) by Japanese Akutagawa Prize-winning author Keiichiro Hirano. The concept clarifies that the true self is not a single entity but rather a collection of multiple “dividuals.” Each person adopts different personas or quasi-personalities depending on the context or situation—for instance, when interacting with parents, a crush, or on social media.

This multiplicity can sometimes cause confusion or difficulty in recognizing which version is the “real” self. However, by accepting that every dividual is a part of oneself, one can gain a deeper understanding of their identity. Additionally, if both oneself and others maintain flexible and socially adaptable dividuals, the potential for mutual understanding and acceptance increases.

Although the book was published in 2012, the concept of “dividuals” holds even greater relevance in today’s era of flourishing social media and the metaverse, where avatars and digital personas are integral to our interactions.

A New Starting Point for Personas in the Metaverse

Japanese knowledge-creator Vtuber バーチャル美少女ねむ/Nem, who is also the author of 《Metaverse Evolution Theory》, references the concept of “dividuals” in her book. She explains that personalities in the metaverse are built upon three fundamental elements: “name,” “avatar,” and “voice”, which together shape one’s role in the metaverse.

note : 《メタバース進化論》（Metaverse Evolution Theory）was published in Japanese and Korean version. Nem also provided the book’s introduction part in English here on her personal blog.

In other words, when you enter the metaverse, your persona takes on a new form, and every action and interaction becomes an expression of your “dividual” identity. This year, Nem released a new original song titled 《Dividual: Rebirth Through Fragmented Identity 》. The music video is highly avant-garde, filmed entirely on the emerging platform Resonite. Centered on the concept of “dividuals,” the song has inspired various events across virtual communities like VRChat and Cluster, aiming to further promote this idea.

Note: Launched in 2023, Resonite offers a high degree of creative freedom and openness, allowing features such as real-time collaborative creation within virtual worlds. Its growing popularity and increasing player adoption make it a platform worth watching for future developments.

Identity in the Metaverse: First Large-Scale Qualitative Study

Nem, a passionate advocate for metaverse culture and a keen observer of social phenomena, conducts an annual large-scale Social VR survey with her collaborator Mila ミラ. This year marks the third installment of their study, which has shifted focus to explore identity in the metaverse — specifically, the relationship between avatar choices in virtual worlds and self-perception in the real world.

This year’s survey targeted players who had used VR headsets to access platforms like VRChat, NeosVR, Cluster, and VirtualCast more than five times within the past year. Participants who only used mobile devices or desktop setups were excluded to ensure the study concentrated on those with immersive VR experiences and social VR orientation, rather than purely VR gaming.

The questionnaire featured open questions about avatar representation and identity, ultimately collecting 1,012 valid responses. Although organizing qualitative data proved more time-consuming than anticipated, it led to deeper and more meaningful insights into identity in virtual spaces.

Research Findings Published:
Identity in the Metaverse メタバースでのアイデンティティ (Nem x Mila, 2024)

Rather than merely translating the study’s findings, vchavcha plan to highlight selected results and engage Nem and Mila in discussions to delve further into self-identity and insights uncovered in the survey.

Ears & Tails Create an Adorable Space of Imagination

Why did this year’s survey focus on identity, differing from the previous two years?

Nem: The last two times, we conducted large-scale quantitative surveys titled “Social VR Lifestyle Survey”. These reports received significant feedback from users, who expressed a desire for a deeper understanding of not only the percentages of responses but also of the reasons and causes behind the them. In conducting our first qualitative survey, identity was chosen as the central theme because it serves as the foundation—or the starting point, so to speak—for living a new life in the metaverse, making it the most important aspect to explore.

Mila: I am deeply passionate about identity research. My Ph.D. work specifically explores the gender identities of Japanese male users who use cute girl avatars. When designing this survey, we aimed to make it accessible to anyone, even those unfamiliar with the metaverse, to help them gain a better understanding of its users, their motivations, and their identities.

In the metaverse, avatars can be categorized as humanoid, semi-humanoid, robot, planet, animal, or monster. “semi-humanoid,” has had the highest proportion and this year is no exception, (3% higher than 2023) . The increase is particularly noticeable in Western regions. Why do you think semi-humanoid avatars are the preferred choice for most people?

Nem: Regardless of the respondents’ countries, “To be cute” was a common mentioned reason. It can be inferred that Semi-Humanoid avatars, by incorporating features such as cat ears or tails, are better suited for expressing cuteness compared to purely Humanoid avatars.

Mila: My personal hypothesis, which requires further testing, is that additional features like animal ears and tails offer extra possibilities for self-expression. On a personal note, I find myself wanting to stroke a cat girl’s ears (with the user’s consent, of course). This suggests that such features encourage closer communication. However, more research would be needed to validate this hypothesis, based on my observations in VRChat.

The Majority Prefer Choosing Female-Character Avatars

Gender was also a focus of this study. Similar to other metaverse surveys, a high percentage (70%) of physical males (79% of respondents) chose female-presenting avatars in the metaverse. Why is this a common preference?

Nem : First, please note that this survey does not ask about biological sex at all; instead, the analysis is based on the respondents’ self-reported sex in the physical world (It is the definition of “physical sex” in this report). This distinction is crucial for some users, so please be careful not to misunderstand.

Mila: I also believe that socio-cultural preferences, as well as existing subcultures and cultures, play a role in motivating these choices. From my personal perspective, I feel that feminine-presenting avatars offer more options in terms of hair, accessories, fashion, and overall style. Back in 2020, I wanted to use a masculine-presenting avatar but was disappointed by the limited options on Booth. However, I’ve noticed that recently, there are more fashion choices available for masculine-presenting avatars, which could potentially lead to a shift in trends in the coming years.

Switch the Interaction Modes for Metaverse Identities

The concept of “dividual” is interesting. With your extensive experience in the metaverse, how do you perceive your own divided personas? Have you experienced periods of confusion, and how did you clearly distinguish between your different selves? Could you also provide advice for others in similar situations?

Nem: In my case, I switch between my physical self in the real world and my dividual self, “Virtual Girl Nem,” in virtual reality. Initially, I felt a bit confused about this new version of myself, but now I change “dividual”s as naturally as changing clothes. Having multiple “dividual”s allows me to unlock various possibilities within myself, leading to a freer way of living. Don’t be afraid — eventually, this will become a normal concept for people all around the world.

Mila: In my case, the virtual Mila and the offline Mila are pretty much the same. Of course, I act differently depending on whether I’m with friends, family, or professors, as it depends on the situation, environment, and the people around me. I keep my name consistent across both the metaverse and the physical world because, as a researcher, it’s important for me to maintain a clear identity.

My avatar actually has the same haircut I had when I first started using VRChat, and I added tattoos to make it feel more “me.” However, my avatar is a more fashionable version of myself. I’m a fan of gyaru style and wear it to some extent offline, but in the metaverse, my style is taken to the extreme—gyaru 10000%.

What I find interesting is that the more time I spend in VRChat, the more I’ve developed a love for cute things like figures, plushies, and clothes. Sometimes, I even dress up cute before logging into VRChat. I’d say the metaverse has inspired me to embrace cuteness in my daily life, as it matches the joy I feel in VRChat when I check out my new outfit in a mirror. 

If someone you know from the real world has a completely different persona in the metaverse, how do you approach interacting with them across both worlds?

Nem: In my case, I completely separate my relationships as well, so I don’t encounter such situations.

Mila: In my case, I respect how a person behaves depending on whether we meet online or offline (as long as they are respectful). For me, it’s similar to talking to a coworker at work versus talking to them at a pub—chances are, they won’t behave the same way in both situations.

Have Virtual Identities Been Fully Accepted by the Mainstream?

In the latter part of the survey, respondents were asked whether they would want to hide their metaverse identity in the real world. About half said they don’t feel the need to hide it. Does this indicate that the concept of having “different personas or identities” in the virtual world is widely accepted? Or have you observed other perspectives?

Nem: I believe the concept of “dividual” is still far from being accepted in mainstream society. Most people likely aren’t even aware of its existence. Among the reasons cited for “hiding VR identities in the physical world,” a common response was “facing prejudice or difficulty in gaining understanding due to being a social VR user.” On the other hand, users who don’t hide their VR identities may simply be in environments with less prejudice, or they may not clearly distinguish their “dividual” selves, making it unnecessary to hide their VR identities.

After conducting this survey on “identity in the metaverse,” are there any areas you feel could be explored more deeply in next year’s research and observations?

Nem: This survey was a qualitative analysis, involving the review of 1,000 open-ended responses for each question, making the analysis significantly more challenging than any of our previous surveys. To be honest, I don’t want to think about the next survey just yet. However, I’m sure we will eventually discover new areas of interest and undertake another survey. This is because the metaverse is brimming with mysteries that ignite our curiosity. In the post-report questionnaire, we are also asking readers about what topics interest them. We would love to hear your thoughts after reading the report and use them as inspiration for future research.

<post-report questionnaire link>

Mila: Originally, we planned to do a small survey, but our motivation led us to create one of the most challenging surveys we’ve ever done. I think we need some time to reflect on the responses to our post-report questionnaire and observe how the metaverse evolves over the coming months.

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“Who am I?” “How can I truly be myself?”

These fundamental questions were explored in new ways through this survey. By the end of the study, 39% of respondents expressed a desire or had already embraced their metaverse identity as their primary social persona. Many noted that compared to the real world, their interactions in the metaverse were more active, fostering deeper community connections and expanding their values and ways of thinking. A significant number of respondents also felt that they could be more authentically themselves in the metaverse.

Introduction the 2 researchers of the “Identity in Metaverse”  Survey 

Liudmila (Mila) Bredikhina（ミラ）
A Ph.D. student in Switzerland. She received the “Prix Genre” (Gender Prize) academic award from the Geneva University for her master’s thesis on “ba-bi-niku” and “VTubers” in 2022. In 2024, her feature documentary was broadcast on NHK(Japan’s public broadcaster)’s “Deepest Japan Research.

Academic portal / X: @BredikhinaL

バーチャル美少女ねむ （Nem)
A Japanese VTuber, writer and Metaverse culture evangelist. HTC official VIVE ambassador. She published the commentary book “Metaverse Evolution Theory (Gijutsu hyoron-sha)” in 2022 and received the Grand Prize in the “IT Engineer Book Awards 2023” in the business book category.

Academic portal / X: @nemchan_nel

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Perhaps it’s too soon to say, but it’s also possible that the virtual world is advancing towards us more quickly than expected. Metaverse identities might soon infiltrate everyone’s daily life. In addition to the different “dividuals” we already face in the real world, there could be another virtual dividual together, offering a path to self-discovery behind the physical world. 

Vchavcha sincerely thanks the two researchers for taking time to answer our questions. We hope that both familiar and unfamiliar metaverse users can find many interesting aspects in the survey.

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