What is the Social impacts of augmented reality?
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Social Impacts of Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality and Social Interaction
Augmented Reality (AR) has a significant impact on social interactions. Research indicates that AR can influence task performance, nonverbal behavior, and social connectedness. For instance, participants performed simple tasks better but complex tasks worse in the presence of virtual agents, demonstrating social facilitation and inhibition effects. Additionally, AR users tend to avoid sitting on virtual agents and choose seating positions that do not require turning their heads away from these agents, indicating a strong influence on nonverbal behavior. However, AR users reported feeling less socially connected to their partners compared to non-AR users, highlighting a potential social cost of using AR in mixed-reality environments.
Sociability, Entertainment, and Learning in AR
While AR applications are often praised for their entertainment and educational value, their impact on sociability is less clear. A field experiment conducted in a Finnish science center found that although AR users recognized the entertainment and learning opportunities provided by AR, there was no significant increase in perceived sociability or social behavior compared to non-AR users. This suggests that while AR can be engaging, it may not necessarily enhance social interactions and could even create a conflict between the real and augmented realities.
Positive Social Impact and Prosocial Behavior
AR can also be designed to promote positive social impacts and prosocial behavior. For example, augmentations in AR can significantly increase the perceived reasons to help in social situations, although this can also lead to disagreements about agency and responsibility between the helper and the helped. This indicates that while AR can motivate prosocial behavior, it also complicates social dynamics and perceptions of responsibility.
AR in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Interventions
AR has shown promise in supporting social, cognitive, and behavioral development in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Systematic reviews suggest that AR-based interventions can be effective in promoting health and wellbeing in this population. Additionally, AR smartglasses have been found to be safe and well-tolerated by children and adults with ASD, with minimal negative effects reported. These findings highlight the potential of AR as a therapeutic tool for improving social skills in individuals with developmental deficits.
Educational Settings and Social Inclusion
In educational settings, AR has been shown to enhance learning experiences and motivation. However, there is a notable lack of accessibility features in many AR systems, which can hinder social inclusion. Meta-analyses indicate that AR has a medium effect on learning gains, suggesting that while AR can be beneficial, it is not a panacea and must be designed with inclusivity in mind.
Conclusion
Augmented Reality has a multifaceted impact on social interactions, offering both opportunities and challenges. While it can enhance task performance, entertainment, and learning, it may also reduce social connectedness and create conflicts between real and augmented realities. AR shows promise in therapeutic settings, particularly for individuals with ASD, but must be designed inclusively to ensure broad social benefits. Future research should continue to explore these dynamics to maximize the positive social impacts of AR.
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Most relevant research papers on this topic
Social interaction in augmented reality
Does Augmented Reality Affect Sociability, Entertainment, and Learning? A Field Experiment
Virtual and Augmented Reality for Positive Social Impact
Exploring the Effects of Head-Mounted Augmented Reality on Helping Behaviour
Exploring the Impact of Augmented Reality in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review
Systematic review and meta-analysis of augmented reality in educational settings
Meta-analysis of the impact of Augmented Reality on students’ learning gains
Virtual reality and augmented reality as strategies for teaching social skills to individuals with intellectual disability: A systematic review
Safety and Lack of Negative Effects of Wearable Augmented-Reality Social Communication Aid for Children and Adults with Autism
Virtual reality and augmented reality in social learning spaces: a literature review
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