Presence Theory
Matthew Lombard, Songyi Lee, Weimei Sun, Kun Xu, Hocheol Yang · The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects · 2017
Abstract Presence (shortened from telepresence) occurs when media users in some way overlook the role of technology in their experience; it is increasingly common and takes place with media from novels to videoconferencing to virtual reality. A variety of theoretical frameworks have been proposed to understand spatial presence (in which a mediated environment seems to not be mediated) and social presence (in which mediated actual or artificial people or characters seem to be present). The development of presence theories, including the many reviewed here, is at an early and fragmented stage but represents an exciting and important challenge for scholars.