The Asian Conference on Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences 2022 Official Conference Proceedings

Abstract

Social VR is emerging with commercialized VR equipment in recent years. In 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic dramatically changed people's life. Governments recommend people stay at home, and the number of people in social VR also increased. This study focused on VRChat, one of the most popular and free-to-play social VR games. A systematic observation and behavior mapping had been conducted for a week (five weekdays and two weekends) in three maps (Worlds). Based on the VRChat user number and time relationship, each map's observation was conducted every 2 hours, starting from 8:00 to 22:00 (JST), and over 1000 users have been observed. And the map selection is based on language use and cultural elements in the map, including Japan, China, and English-speaking countries. People's positions on the map, behaviors, topics of conversation, and language use have been collected. The mapping results present on maps and other data such as the number of people, people's behaviors, and distance between people are statistically analyzed. The results of this study are 1. People would like to socialize in front of mirrors with a variety of avatars. 2. Only a few people take seats in virtual environments since most users are sitting in the real world when they are in VR. 3. Most people's distances between each other are from 1 to 2 meters, and the distance is statically different compared to people in front of mirrors and other areas.