Yes / Most studies investigated the effectiveness of
virtual reality (VR) for healthcare and educational purposes,
but little is known on the effectiveness of VR in social
interaction. Our aim was to examine whether VR would be
similar to in-person interaction in reducing loneliness. A total of
73 participants participated in this study. They were randomly
assigned to in-person or VR condition and interacted for 15
minutes about a tourist landmark. Participants completed a set
of questions that measured belonging – acceptance and
exclusion, positive and negative affect, wellbeing, trust, and
mood before and after the interaction. Results showed that in
both conditions, loneliness was significantly lower, with higher
wellbeing, higher positive and lower negative affect, feeling
happier and had more fun post task. Trust was higher in the VR
condition post task but not for in-person. Our regression
analyses showed that having higher wellbeing was a significant
predictor in reducing loneliness for in-person condition and that
being older and higher belonging – acceptance were significant
predictors on feeling lonelier for the VR condition. In sum, our
results demonstrated some success in reducing loneliness in VR
but may not be sufficient to develop lasting friendship. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 07 Nov 2024.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/19791 |
| Date | 22 January 2024 |
| Creators | Hussain, A., Lee, S.J., Theunissen, D., Yong, Min Hooi |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Conference paper, Accepted manuscript |
| Rights | © 2023 IEEE. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy., Unspecified |
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