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Social relations and spatiality in VR - Making spaces meaningful in VRChat

Leighton Evans Orcid Logo, Michal Rzeszewski Orcid Logo

Emotion, Space and Society, Volume: 53

Swansea University Author: Leighton Evans Orcid Logo

Abstract

Virtual environments of social VR platforms offer a unique space for social interaction. They can be seen as socio-technological assemblages that foster immersion, embodiment, and presence, which come together as a framework that allows VR users to make space meaningful – thus creating places. This...

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Published in: Emotion, Space and Society
Published: Elsevier 2024
Online Access: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755458624000392
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67586
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first_indexed 2024-09-05T09:50:10Z
last_indexed 2024-09-05T09:50:10Z
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spelling v2 67586 2024-09-05 Social relations and spatiality in VR - Making spaces meaningful in VRChat cc05810f3465ddddd6814e131f4e9a79 0000-0002-6875-6301 Leighton Evans Leighton Evans true false 2024-09-05 CACS Virtual environments of social VR platforms offer a unique space for social interaction. They can be seen as socio-technological assemblages that foster immersion, embodiment, and presence, which come together as a framework that allows VR users to make space meaningful – thus creating places. This research aimed to understand how using social VR mediates social practices and the spatial practices of being social, investigating the spatial dynamics and place-making processes within Social VR environments. We conducted participant observation and 15 virtual in-depth interviews in VRChat. Our thematic analysis reveals that mobility and escape mechanisms are critical affordances shaping social spatiality. Additionally, social presence and co-presence are pivotal in establishing a feeling of ‘being there’ and cultivating attachment to virtual locales. Users actively contribute to the emergence of place through their spatial understandings and normative social behaviors. These findings underscore the significance of social interaction in shaping the spatial experience within Social VR. Further research is warranted to explore diverse user experiences and platforms, advancing our understanding of Social VR as a medium for meaningful interaction and place-making. Journal Article Emotion, Space and Society 53 Elsevier Virtual reality; Social media; Space and place; Spatiality; Social interaction 5 9 2024 2024-09-05 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755458624000392 COLLEGE NANME Culture and Communications School COLLEGE CODE CACS Swansea University Not Required National Science Centre, Poland 2019/33/B/HS4/00057 2024-09-05T10:50:09.8239568 2024-09-05T10:36:32.9697131 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - Media, Communications, Journalism and PR Leighton Evans 0000-0002-6875-6301 1 Michal Rzeszewski 0000-0002-2170-335X 2
title Social relations and spatiality in VR - Making spaces meaningful in VRChat
spellingShingle Social relations and spatiality in VR - Making spaces meaningful in VRChat
Leighton Evans
title_short Social relations and spatiality in VR - Making spaces meaningful in VRChat
title_full Social relations and spatiality in VR - Making spaces meaningful in VRChat
title_fullStr Social relations and spatiality in VR - Making spaces meaningful in VRChat
title_full_unstemmed Social relations and spatiality in VR - Making spaces meaningful in VRChat
title_sort Social relations and spatiality in VR - Making spaces meaningful in VRChat
author_id_str_mv cc05810f3465ddddd6814e131f4e9a79
author_id_fullname_str_mv cc05810f3465ddddd6814e131f4e9a79_***_Leighton Evans
author Leighton Evans
author2 Leighton Evans
Michal Rzeszewski
format Journal article
container_title Emotion, Space and Society
container_volume 53
publishDate 2024
institution Swansea University
publisher Elsevier
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - Media, Communications, Journalism and PR{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - Media, Communications, Journalism and PR
url https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755458624000392
document_store_str 0
active_str 0
description Virtual environments of social VR platforms offer a unique space for social interaction. They can be seen as socio-technological assemblages that foster immersion, embodiment, and presence, which come together as a framework that allows VR users to make space meaningful – thus creating places. This research aimed to understand how using social VR mediates social practices and the spatial practices of being social, investigating the spatial dynamics and place-making processes within Social VR environments. We conducted participant observation and 15 virtual in-depth interviews in VRChat. Our thematic analysis reveals that mobility and escape mechanisms are critical affordances shaping social spatiality. Additionally, social presence and co-presence are pivotal in establishing a feeling of ‘being there’ and cultivating attachment to virtual locales. Users actively contribute to the emergence of place through their spatial understandings and normative social behaviors. These findings underscore the significance of social interaction in shaping the spatial experience within Social VR. Further research is warranted to explore diverse user experiences and platforms, advancing our understanding of Social VR as a medium for meaningful interaction and place-making.
published_date 2024-09-05T10:50:10Z
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score 11.028798

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