The Alt-Self: Investigating the Inclusivity of Self-Avatar Representations in Social VR
Madalyn Javier, Sara Wheeler, Qianhui Ni, Magdalayna Drivas, Katelyn G. Wong, Sofia Fitzsimmons, Ria Panda, Tierney Burke, Saunder Salazar, Jessie Jiang, Lynn Carol Miller, David C. Jeong · 2024
While recent research in social VR have investigated user motivations and group communication, there is a gap in understanding the challenge of digital self-representation and how constraints in avatar customization may impact user self-presentation norms. 48 participants (aged 18-24) were asked to customize an avatar, after which researcher conducted qualitative interviews within the Meta Horizon Worlds VR platform regarding users’ satisfaction with their avatars (e.g., skin tone, hair, clothing). Using interview findings (n = 44), we report an in-depth empirical investigation of users’ perceptions of avatar representation, realism, and embodiment in VR. Users express a desire to customize avatars that deviate from traditional self-presentation, revealing a conflict between visual self-similarity and embodied self-identification with their avatar. This study contributes to a growing body of literature on social VR avatars that accounts for inclusive representation and self-presentation. We discuss implications and provide recommendations for future social VR platform design and research.