research-article

Stay Connected in An Immersive World: Why Teenagers Engage in Social Virtual Reality

Authors:

Divine Maloney,

Andrew RobbAuthors Info & Claims

IDC '21: Proceedings of the 20th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference

Pages 69 - 79

https://doi.org/10.1145/3459990.3460703

Published: 24 June 2021 Publication History

Abstract

Social virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a popular online space for teenagers to interact and socialize. It attracts teens due to the broad range of immersive activities and social engagement opportunities, along with diverse users in terms of age and interest. Yet, little is known about teenagers’ experiences and understandings of this emerging online social space, especially regarding what aspects may attract or dissuade them to social VR. To explore this question, we conducted in-depth interviews with 20 teenagers (e.g., ages 13-18) and reported findings regarding what attracted them to engage in social VR and challenges with social VR that may dissuade them from using it. Our findings contribute to the growing body of scholarship on teenagers’ experiences in emerging, novel online social spaces and highlight potential design implications for creating safer and more fulfilling social VR experiences for teenagers.

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Cited By

Li GLuo HYin XZhang YLi Z(2024)Affording Social Experience for Adolescents Using Immersive Virtual Reality: A Moderated Mediation AnalysisChildren10.3390/children1111136211:11(1362)Online publication date: 9-Nov-2024
https://doi.org/10.3390/children11111362
Kurt I(2024)The role of socialization agents in sociovirtualization: Bridging the gap between virtual and real-world interactionsProceedings of London International Conferences10.31039/plic.2024.9.200(8-20)Online publication date: 19-Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.31039/plic.2024.9.200
Javier MWheeler SNi QDrivas MWong KFitzsimmons SPanda RBurke TSalazar SJiang JMiller LJeong D(2024)The Alt-Self: Investigating the Inclusivity of Self-Avatar Representations in Social VRCompanion Proceedings of the 2024 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play10.1145/3665463.3678783(131-138)Online publication date: 14-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3665463.3678783
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cover image ACM Conferences

IDC '21: Proceedings of the 20th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference

June 2021

697 pages

ISBN:9781450384520

DOI:10.1145/3459990

General Chairs:
Maria Roussou,
Suleman Shahid,
Program Chairs:
Jerry Alan Fails,
Monica Landoni

Copyright © 2021 ACM.

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Published: 24 June 2021

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IDC '21: Interaction Design and Children

June 24 - 30, 2021

Athens, Greece

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Cited By

Li GLuo HYin XZhang YLi Z(2024)Affording Social Experience for Adolescents Using Immersive Virtual Reality: A Moderated Mediation AnalysisChildren10.3390/children1111136211:11(1362)Online publication date: 9-Nov-2024
https://doi.org/10.3390/children11111362
Kurt I(2024)The role of socialization agents in sociovirtualization: Bridging the gap between virtual and real-world interactionsProceedings of London International Conferences10.31039/plic.2024.9.200(8-20)Online publication date: 19-Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.31039/plic.2024.9.200
Javier MWheeler SNi QDrivas MWong KFitzsimmons SPanda RBurke TSalazar SJiang JMiller LJeong D(2024)The Alt-Self: Investigating the Inclusivity of Self-Avatar Representations in Social VRCompanion Proceedings of the 2024 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play10.1145/3665463.3678783(131-138)Online publication date: 14-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3665463.3678783
Angerbauer KVan Wagoner PHalach TVogelsang JHube NSmith AKeplinger KSedlmair M(2024)Is it Part of Me? Exploring Experiences of Inclusive Avatar Use For Visible and Invisible Disabilities in Social VRProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3675601(1-15)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663548.3675601
Fiani CSaeghe PMcGill MKhamis M(2024)Exploring the Perspectives of Social VR-Aware Non-Parent Adults and Parents on Children's Use of Social Virtual RealityProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36528678:CSCW1(1-25)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3652867
Kukshinov EHarley DSzita KHadi Mogavi RMacarthur CNacke L(2024)Disembodied, Asocial, and Unreal: How Users Reinterpret Designed Affordances of Social VRProceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3643834.3661548(1914-1925)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3643834.3661548
Stefanidi EWagener NAugsten DAugsten AReicherts LWoźniak PSchöning JRogers YNiess J(2024)TeenWorlds: Supporting Emotional Expression for Teenagers with their Parents and Peers through a Collaborative VR ExperienceProceedings of the 30th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology10.1145/3641825.3687754(1-14)Online publication date: 9-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3641825.3687754
Fiani CBretin RMacdonald SKhamis MMcgill M(2024)"Pikachu would electrocute people who are misbehaving": Expert, Guardian and Child Perspectives on Automated Embodied Moderators for Safeguarding Children in Social Virtual RealityProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642144(1-23)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642144
Hadan HWang DNacke LZhang-Kennedy L(2024)Privacy in Immersive Extended Reality: Exploring User Perceptions, Concerns, and Coping StrategiesProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642104(1-24)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Cao JB ADas AEmami-Naeini P(2024)Understanding Parents’ Perceptions and Practices Toward Children’s Security and Privacy in Virtual Reality2024 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP)10.1109/SP54263.2024.00222(1554-1572)Online publication date: 19-May-2024
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