Strange Familiars: Exploring the Design of Avatars and Virtual Environments for Reconnecting Dormant Ties in Virtual Reality

Rekindling old social bonds with individuals who were once a part of our lives but have since faded away is crucial for our well-being. Such connections with dormant ties help us overcome loneliness and provide social support. Recently, virtual reality (VR) emerged as a promising tool for facilitating social interactions, such as online gatherings for formal or casual activities. VR can offer immersive and shared experiences, facilitating genuine connections between people. This provides a unique advantage over traditional computer-mediated communication methods. However, while prior research has explored how VR can aid in forming new social connections, its potential to reconnect dormant ties is largely unexplored. This paper aims to bridge this gap by examining how different features of VR, specifically avatar appearance and virtual environments, influence reactivations of dormant ties. We conducted an experiment involving 24 dyads to investigate the effect of different avatar-self similarities and virtual environments on the perceptions and interactions between dormant ties. Our findings indicate that avatars resembling oneself and dormant ties promote social closeness. Familiar virtual environments evoke shared memories, while unfamiliar ones stimulate more conversations. We discuss the impact of VR features on reconnecting dormant ties and provide implications for re-connecting relationships in VR.