I’m a huge fan of charts, and I just love to see quick visual representations of how our world is changing.

I especially like this chart, which graphs the Google Search interest for the term “metaverse.”

In an instant, it conveys just how suddenly the world became captivated by the emerging concept of virtual worlds.

Up until two weeks ago, hardly anyone cared about the metaverse – or, at the very least, no one was Googling it. Now, everyone and their best friend is Googling it.

So, now comes the fun part of identifying exactly what this means…

Is this a turning point for the metaverse?

We think so.

Up until recently, the metaverse was this weird science-fiction concept that seemed like a distant reality. Then Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) changed its name to Meta, and Mark Zuckerberg took us on a real-world demonstration of how headset and gaming technology could finally support high-quality, immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences.

Now, the world is suddenly looking at the metaverse as an inevitable reality that is coming soon to a digital platform near you – the next evolution of social media.

The world is right here.

As we’ve written in these very issues, humans are natural escapists. We like reality, sure, but we also like to escape reality sometimes. A few decades ago, we escaped through analog platforms, like books, magazines, and movies. Today, we escape via 2D-internet platforms, like video games, social media, and streaming shows.

Tomorrow, we will escape via 3D-internet platforms, like VR gaming, virtual bars/clubs, and immersive shows and movies.

It’s the natural progression of things. Three-dimensional internet platforms represent the next evolution of human escapism. Our jump to those platforms isn’t a matter of “if” – it’s a matter of “when.”

The “when” is now.

Zuckerberg proved as much in his demonstration of Meta.

The augmented and virtual reality hardware underlying our access to these platforms – like Facebook’s Oculus Rift headset – has long been the biggest blocker to metaverse adoption. While the software has always been good enough, the hardware has always lagged.

But that hardware has advanced to a point of being good enough for mass consumer use. Over the next 12 to 24 months, these headsets are going to go from niche adoption, to household ubiquity, and the world will jump from 2D-internet platforms to 3D-internet platforms.

The metaverse will be born.

Indeed, this is already happening. Not in 2022. Not next month. Right now.

Our top metaverse pick in the Innovation Investor portfolio is up 60% this month, partly because of metaverse hype, but also because the company reported blowout earnings recently, which underscored that – over the past few weeks – people are flocking to metaverse content.

We think this trend is going to accelerate in 2022.

The catalyst? Christmas.

Headsets are going to be the hottest and most popular gift this holiday season. There’s simply too much hype surrounding the metaverse, and too many affordable headsets out there, for consumers not to buy a bunch of these this holiday season.

A lot of these folks will be first-time VR headset users. They’re going to put those headsets on during the holiday season. They’re going to plug into the metaverse. They’re going to be impressed, and eventually, they’re going to get hooked.

Adults are going to go back into the office in the new year and brag about their new headsets. Kids are going to back to school and talk about their cool new headsets. Anyone who didn’t buy one during Christmas will put one on their shopping list right away, and by mid-to-late 2022, headset hardware will be nearly as common as video game hardware, such as the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X.

This huge growth cycle starts now.

So don’t wait. Hop aboard the metaverse megatrend now! Big gains are coming soon.

And we believe our flagship investment research product, Innovation Investor, is perfectly positioned to capitalize on the metaverse megatrend with some of the market’s best VR and AR stocks.

To reiterate, our top metaverse pick is up 60% over the past month alone – and we think that rally is just getting started.

Naturally, we’ll be sure to continue covering the evolution of the metaverse in the coming weeks and months. But to find out more about how to “plug in” to the future now, click here.

On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.