In this study, we think we have discovered a new phenomenon specific to social virtual environments. It is closely related to the subjective individual sense of embodiment in VR, but it is not the same. It is an intersubjective state in the sense that it depends on what others do, look like or what meanings they negotiate together. It is a sensory and a symbolic state of being a virtual group.

Eugene Kukshinov and Lennart E. Nacke. 2025. Collective Embodiment, or the Social Nature of the Sense of Embodiment in Social VR. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences (IMX ’25). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 187–199. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706370.3727895

Last week, I had the chance to attend Questioning Reality 2025 at the Data Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto. The event was packed and incredibly well-organized, creating a fast-paced environment for real conversations about the future of VR, AR, and social interaction.

One of the highlights for me was the amount of direct networking built into the schedule—casual breakfasts, play sessions with VR prototypes, and focused workshops where you could actually have meaningful discussions. The sessions were dense but energizing, with constant opportunities to meet researchers, industry experts, and designers pushing boundaries in XR.

The organizers really nailed the balance between structure and openness, making space for both big-picture brainstorming and critical discussion. Huge thanks to the team and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for supporting such a dynamic and genuinely inspiring gathering.