Virtual reality had limited reach among U.S. teens in Piper Sandler’s 2023 surveys, and regular use and plans to buy a headset were uncommon. But the data do not prove that VR has “utterly failed” with teens: they are a dated snapshot, not a measure of teenagers’ attitudes in 2026 or an explanation of why they did—or did not—use VR.
What the Spring 2023 survey found
Piper Sandler’s 45th semiannual Taking Stock With Teens survey, conducted with DECA, included 5,690 U.S. teens with an average age of 16.2. Fieldwork ran from February 13 to March 21, 2023, and covered 47 states. It was a consumer survey, not a census or a study designed to establish why teens used or avoided VR. Piper Sandler’s Spring 2023 release describes the survey and its scope.
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In the survey’s VR results, 29% of respondents said they owned a VR device. Ownership did not translate into frequent use: among teens who owned a device, 4% used it daily and about 14% used it weekly. Those usage figures apply to owners, not to all teens.
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Ownership was not the same as engagement
The gap between owning a headset and using one regularly is central to interpreting the headline. The Spring 2023 figures suggest that a minority of surveyed teens owned a VR device, and daily or weekly use was uncommon even among those owners. They do not show that every nonowner disliked VR, or that ownership itself meant sustained interest.
Piper Sandler characterized the low usage as “early days,” adding that VR devices were less important than smartphones. That is the firm’s interpretation of its survey results, not a finding that establishes the cause of low use.
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How the Fall 2023 results compared
Piper Sandler’s Fall 2023 survey showed a mixed change: ownership edged up, while reported use among owners and buying intent among nonowners remained low. The figures below are historical survey results, not current adoption estimates.
| Measure | Spring 2023 | Fall 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| VR device ownership | 29% of surveyed teens | 31% of surveyed teens |
| Daily use | 4% of VR-device owners | 3% of VR-device owners |
| Weekly use | About 14% of VR-device owners | About 10% of VR-device owners |
| Intent to purchase | 7% of nonowners | 6% of nonowners |
The Spring figures come from Piper Sandler’s Spring 2023 report; the later figures are from Piper Sandler’s Fall 2023 report. The small rise in ownership alongside lower reported use and purchase intent does not support a simple story of steadily growing enthusiasm—or of universal rejection.
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Does the headline still describe teen interest?
Not as a current, established fact. “Utterly failed” is a sharp interpretation of the Spring 2023 findings, not a conclusion the survey can prove about all teenagers. The data support a narrower statement: in two U.S. surveys in 2023, reported VR ownership was limited, frequent use among owners was uncommon, and few nonowners said they planned to buy a device.
The accessible current Piper Sandler survey summary does not provide later VR-specific figures. As a result, these results cannot establish the rate of teen VR ownership or use in 2026, or whether teens’ interest has since changed.
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