Meditating Together: Practices, Benefits and Challenges of Meditation on Social Virtual Reality
L. Liu, Xi Lu, Pei-Chun Chiang, Daniel A. Epstein, K. Squire
International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems April 25, 2025 DOI: 10.1145/3706598.3713172 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 13 |
| Population | Regular social VR meditators |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Meditators in social VR used platform features to engage in community-driven group practices, manage session flow, employ avatars and body tracking for kinetic practices, and experiment with novel meditation forms. Participants reported both benefits and challenges related to individual and social aspects of their meditation experiences. The authors argue that avatars and virtual others can positively affect practice, while also identifying emerging tensions and opportunities for social VR meditation. |
Abstract
Meditation and mind-body practices offer many benefits for both mental and physical well-being. Recently, social virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising platform to support well-being activities. While Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research has explored technologies for meditation, little is known about how users appropriate social VR for meditation, particularly group practice, and how it shapes their experiences. To bridge this gap, we interviewed 13 regular social VR meditators to explore their practices, perceived benefits, and challenges. We found that meditators utilized platform features to engage in community-driven group practices, manage session flow, employ avatars and body tracking for kinetic practices, and experiment with novel forms of meditation. Participants reported benefits and challenges related to the individual and social aspects of their meditation experiences. Based on these findings, we discuss the implications of using social VR for meditation, including how avatars and virtual others positively affect the practice, as well as emerging tensions and opportunities.