SVR Social VR: VR as a medium of communication #mutliplayer, #socialising, #virtual encounters, #sense of co-presence
VR across generations
Social VR Activities Should Support Ongoing Conversation – Comparing Older and Young Adults Desires and Requirements
(Simon et al., 2024)
Older generations often express interest in virtual reality technologies primarily for communication purposes, such as maintaining contact with family members who live far away. However, they tend to expect highly realistic visual representations of their loved ones, enabling recognition and a sense of continuity as they observe relatives grow and change over time. Research on realistic avatars highlights this tension: unlike younger users, who have grown up with online presence, stylised profiles, and 3D avatars on platforms such as Facebook or Snapchat, older adults are generally less commercially familiar with the concept of avatars. Consequently, they prefer media that connects them directly with their loved ones rather than playful or highly stylised representations, which may hold greater appeal for younger audiences more attuned to curating their digital identities. For both age groups, the accurate transmission of facial expressions and gestures remains a key factor in fostering a sense of presence and emotional connection.
| young users | eldery users | |
| online presence via avatars | have grown up with online presence, stylised profiles, and 3D avatars on platforms such as Facebook or Snapchat | generally less commercially familiar with the concept of avatars |
| experience expectations | continues audio input but preference for the shooting game as an example of shared experience | continues audio input but avoid the visualisation of the harmfull beahviour while interacting |
| visual fidelty of avatar | They expect realistic avatars of their loved ones, allowing easy recognition and a sense of continuity as relatives grow and change. | |
| animation fidelty of avatar | accurate transmission of facial expressions and gestures remains a key factor in fostering a sense of presence and emotional connection | accurate transmission of facial expressions and gestures remains a key factor in fostering a sense of presence and emotional connection |
| usecase | gaming, shared expereince, communciations | communication |
| benefit of SVR | both age groups considered SVR beneficial for maintaining contact and closeness over distance, and thought that VR-applications could help to feel more connected. | both age groups considered SVR beneficial for maintaining contact and closeness over distance, and thought that VR-applications could help to feel more connected. |
Virtual reality has the potential to facilitate richer, more meaningful communication and to foster relationships more effectively than traditional two-dimensional screens. Studies indicate that realistic avatar design is important for users across age groups, enabling older participants in particular to recognize their counterparts. The immersive quality of VR allows geographically separated users to experience a heightened sense of agency and emotional connection compared to conventional technologies, which are limited by factors such as narrow fields of view and reduced capacity to convey emotional depth. This contrast is perhaps most evident in intimate contexts: while online interactions can feel superficial, VR’s sense of presence may offer far more compelling and stimulating experiences.
Immersion effect
“There seemed to be a strong immersion effect, with two older adults attempting to place their controllers on the virtual table during table tennis”. VR has affordance to higher immersion, but it’s medaitetd expereince that one’s has to find themselves immersed within the world and consequtly feel present in the virtual realm.
Social XR: Designing An Extended Reality Application for Interaction in Long-Distance Relationships (Dezijan, 2025)