Social VR Activities Should Support Ongoing Conversation - Comparing Older and Young Adults Desires and Requirements

Keeping in social contact with friends and family and engaging in social and enjoyable activities is important for our well-being – especially for older adults, who often live distant from loved ones. A new opportunity is provided by Social VR (SVR) for engaging in shared activities beyond just talk. We present findings from interviews with older and young adults on their needs and desires for social VR, especially regarding the types of activity they would like to engage in. We compare these findings to identify differences, commonalities, and opportunities for inter-generational social VR activities. Despite the favoring of cultural (older) and sport (younger adults) interactions, both users groups preferred low-intensity and game-like activities that allow for ongoing conversation and ’sharing the moment’. Furthermore, ease of use, realistic avatars and the mitigation of age-related differences were core requirements for the older demographic.