We are pleased to announce the latest publication by Dr. Eugene Kukshinov, alongside co-authors Dr. Cayley MacArthur, Dr. Daniel Harley, Trisha Pawar, Nirali Modi, and Dr. Lennart E. Nacke, titled "Experiential Disparities in Social VR: Uncovering Power Dynamics and Inequality," published in Frontiers in Virtual Reality.
Paper Overview:
The paper investigates the ways in which Social Virtual Reality (SVR) environments both reflect and reinforce social inequalities, particularly those related to race and gender. The study takes a critical, intersectional approach to examine how existing power dynamics shape interactions and individual experiences within these virtual spaces.
Using qualitative survey data, the authors explore disparities in how dominant and marginalized groups navigate key SVR affordances, such as expectations around perceived anonymity, the limited customization of avatars, and practices related to self-representation and embodied social interactions. The findings highlight how virtual environments can reproduce offline power structures, often marginalizing non-dominant identities.
The paper emphasizes the need for a deeper engagement with the ways social inequalities persist in virtual worlds and calls for more inclusive design practices in SVR.
You can access the full paper here: Experiential Disparities in Social VR: Uncovering Power Dynamics and Inequality.