Immersive storytelling adoption is visible across audiences, devices, public spaces, and institutions. In Japan, 20.8% of respondents had used at least one of eight listed immersive-media services in a survey conducted August 26–September 2, 2024. Among U.S. federal civilian agencies, 17 of 23 reported at least one immersive-technology activity in fiscal years 2022–2023. Together, these figures describe adoption as a progression: awareness, use, participation, portability, and organizational experimentation.
Contents
- Awareness and audience use
- Social and participatory storytelling
- The smartphone-to-headset pathway
- Portability and location-based experiences
- Design, privacy, and content barriers
- Institutional adoption and public-facing storytelling
Awareness and audience use
The Dentsu 2024 Immersive Media Survey Results provide a Japan-specific view of the gap between knowing about immersive media and using it. The survey covered Japan nationwide respondents and eight listed immersive-media services; it does not measure every form of digital storytelling.
Overall awareness of at least one listed service was 55.5% during August 26–September 2, 2024. Awareness was substantially higher among younger respondents: 89.8% among those aged 10–19, 65.4% among respondents in their 20s, and 57.9% among respondents in their 30s. These are survey-group results, not a global adoption rate.
Reported use was lower than awareness. In the same survey, 20.8% of all Japan respondents had used at least one of the eight listed services. Among respondents aged 10–19, the figure was 65.3%, while 12.6% of respondents outside that age group had used at least one listed service. The age pattern therefore appears in both recognition and use, although the figures describe different survey groups and should not be treated as a forecast.
For respondents who had recently used immersive media, average daily use per immersive-media service was 59.8 minutes. The corresponding average for each social-networking service was 46.6 minutes. These measures come from the prior month as reported in the survey conducted August 26–September 2, 2024. They indicate time spent among recent users, rather than time spent by the full Japan population.
Social and participatory storytelling
Immersive storytelling adoption is not limited to viewing a finished experience. The Dentsu survey recorded several social behaviors among Japan respondents who had recently used immersive media. In that group, 78.9% enjoyed playing games with real-world friends, 73.7% enjoyed using immersive media while messaging or calling friends, and 72.0% enjoyed using it when together with friends. These findings place social connection alongside the immersive layer.
Creator influence was also visible. Among respondents in their 20s who had recently used immersive media, 77.1% selected content from favorite developers and creators as a way they enjoyed immersive media. This is an audience preference measure, not a measure of creator-market size or content revenue.
Participation extended to making three-dimensional content. Overall, 48.8% of recent immersive-media users had created 3D content such as an avatar or virtual world during the prior month. The proportion among recent users in their 20s was 63.6%. Within that same age group, 23.3% said they often create 3D content. The distinction between having created content and often creating it matters: the first measures reach, while the second describes a more frequent behavior.
These figures suggest several layers of storytelling involvement: audiences can spend time in an experience, use it with people they know, follow favored creators, and contribute objects or worlds of their own. The survey does not establish that these behaviors are caused by immersive storytelling, but it quantifies the range of participation reported by recent users.
The smartphone-to-headset pathway
Ericsson’s 2024 report, Augmented tomorrow: AR experiences beyond smartphones and AR filters, examined current and prospective extended-reality users across 10 global markets. Its results frame smartphone AR as an entry point rather than a complete destination.
Only 42% of active users in the study were satisfied with current smartphone AR experiences. About one in 10 consumers currently used both smartphone AR and VR, AR, or MR headsets or glasses. Ericsson projected that combined smartphone-AR and headset-or-glasses use would double within five years; this is a projection, not an observed adoption result.
Device design and integration shaped willingness to move along that pathway. Sixty-two percent of consumers were willing to connect AR/MR devices to smartphones if weight, portability, and battery life improved. Among current AR/VR/MR device users, 64% reported sharing their device with household members.
The combined-use group reported 54% satisfaction with smartphone AR, compared with 40% among users without combined use. Seventy percent of combined-use consumers said they adopt new technology ahead of most people, compared with 42% of smartphone-AR-only users. The same combined-use group showed deeper engagement in several measures: 88% used multiple AR apps and 45% described smartphone AR apps as joyful.
| Ericsson measure | Combined smartphone-AR and headset/glasses users | Smartphone-AR-only users or broader consumer group |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction with smartphone AR | 54% | 40% among users without combined use |
| Say they adopt new technology ahead of most people | 70% | 42% among smartphone-AR-only users |
| Use multiple AR apps | 88% | Not supplied |
| Describe smartphone AR apps as joyful | 45% | Not supplied |
The comparison describes user groups in Ericsson’s 2024 study; it does not show that headset ownership causes higher satisfaction or earlier adoption. For storytellers, the practical signal is that smartphone experiences and more specialized devices can belong to one adoption sequence, while satisfaction depends on how well the experience works in its current format.
Portability and location-based experiences
The strongest forward-looking demand in Ericsson’s report concerned experiences beyond the home. Seventy-five percent of consumers wanted to use AR/MR devices outside the home within the next five years. Consumers were willing to pay an average 20% premium for devices usable outside the home, and seven in 10 were ready to pay a premium for devices usable outside the home or on the go. These are expectations and stated willingness, not realized purchases.
Location is part of the story format. Sixty-seven percent of consumers were drawn to out-of-home AR experiences expected to become widely available in two to four years. The examples included AR sports, concerts, tourist displays, and public art. The same 67% figure was reported for interest in location-based or out-of-home experiences such as those categories.
Looking five years forward, 57% of consumers anticipated using AR/MR devices in at least three different locations outside the home. Ericsson also reported an expected daily-use range of 7 to 20 minutes across tested AR use cases among current and prospective AR users. That range points toward brief, repeatable encounters as one possible pattern for location-aware storytelling, but it does not identify which use case will prevail.
Ericsson’s next-five-year framework identified three stages for AR experience adoption: smartphone-led experiences, portable companion devices, and standalone devices. For immersive storytellers, the stages distinguish distribution constraints. A story can begin on a phone, extend through a companion device, and eventually support a standalone experience, but the report does not claim that every audience will follow all three stages.
Design, privacy, and content barriers
Adoption depends on what audiences can do as well as what they want to do. Two out of 10 consumers in Ericsson’s 2024 study said current smartphone AR lacks enough relevant content. At the device level, 44% said currently available VR/AR/MR headsets or glasses provide joyful experiences. Content relevance and emotional payoff therefore remain separate considerations from technical access.
Public appearance is another constraint. Thirty-five percent of current AR/MR device users expressed major concerns about appearance and social perception. Sixty-one percent of consumers said they would not wear AR/MR devices in public if the devices were not visually appealing. At the same time, 65% believed blending digital and physical elements would be helpful and were curious about using AR glasses in public. Interest and reluctance can coexist: a useful public experience may still be rejected if the device feels socially awkward.
Privacy concerns extend beyond the wearer. Twenty-one percent of respondents were uncomfortable being around people using AR/MR devices to capture pictures or videos, and 31% were uncomfortable being caught on camera in someone else’s extended-reality experience. Globally, 60% of consumers were apprehensive about sharing images or video that inadvertently captured bystanders. In South Korea, the corresponding figure was 71%.
Ericsson associated concern about bystander privacy with an 18-percentage-point lower intention to adopt an AR/MR device in its first year. This is an association reported in the 2024 study, not a causal estimate. For immersive storytelling, consent, capture visibility, and the treatment of people who are present but not participating are part of adoption design rather than post-launch details.
Institutional adoption and public-facing storytelling
The U.S. Government Accountability Office report GAO-24-106665 examined U.S. federal civilian agencies and should not be generalized to all organizations. In fiscal years 2022–2023, 17 of 23 agencies reported at least one immersive-technology activity, 14 reported using immersive technologies, and 15 reported conducting or funding immersive-technology research and development.
The reported activities also show how institutional adoption can support storytelling infrastructure. Eleven agencies reported other immersive-technology activities with nonfederal entities, while 10 reported transactions enabling nonfederal entities to develop, purchase, or use immersive technologies. Nine of the 14 agencies using immersive technology reported using at least one type weekly.
Applications were broader than public-facing narrative experiences. Three agencies reported using immersive technology for medical assessment or treatment, and three reported using it for remote collaboration. Among the 15 agencies conducting or funding R&D, 11 reported workforce-training applications, 12 reported data-visualization and analysis applications, and 12 reported human-factors research applications. These counts are reported agency totals, not calculated market shares.
The R&D structure included both internal and external work. Thirteen of the 15 agencies reported internal R&D, and 12 reported funding external R&D through grants or contracts. This mix matters for media and cultural projects because public-facing immersive storytelling can depend on research, procurement, partnerships, and evaluation as much as on the final experience.
GAO also recorded a forward-looking institutional signal. Fifteen of 23 U.S. federal civilian agencies said they were likely to adopt or expand immersive-technology use during fiscal years 2024–2028, while 13 of 23 planned to conduct or fund immersive-technology R&D during that period. These are agency-reported forecasts for FY 2024–2028, not completed adoption outcomes. They indicate that immersive technology was being treated as an ongoing capability area, with future use and research developing in parallel.