Social VR: A Promising Platform for Enhancing Mental Wellness among College Students

• Published in: Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology Vol. 60; no. 1; pp. 479 - 491
• Main Authors: You, Xinyue (Sally), Bailey, Jakki O., Won, Andrea Stevenson, Ahn, Sun Joo (Grace), MacIntyre, Blair
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.10.2023
• Subjects: mental health; social VR; virtual interaction; Virtual reality; virtual worlds
• ISSN: 2373-9231; 2373-9231
• DOI: 10.1002/pra2.805

ABSTRACT In recent decades, there has been an alarming increase in the number of university and college students struggling with intensifying psychological distress, which has become a mental health crisis on campuses. To address this issue, this study proposes social VR as a potential platform to promote social interaction and improve mental well‐ being for college students. In this study, 68 students explored a variety of social VR applications in a classroom setting. Results showed that a) virtual space, audio, avatar, communication types, and activities were key contributing features that facilitated social interaction among college students in social VR and have the potential to enhance mental wellness, and b) the anonymous nature, communicative cues, and designated private areas provided by social VR platforms were effective in facilitating self‐disclosure, indicating social VR's potential in delivering mental health services such as individual and group counseling and therapy. This study provides evidence that social VR can enhance social interaction and communication while serving as a platform for professional mental health care, a venue that has yet to be explored in previous studies.