Affordances and paradoxical engagement in virtual immersive learning platforms: A configurational analysis across demographic groups

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Virtual immersive learning platforms (VILPs), integrating immersive technologies, gamified design, and learning tools, enable meaningful engagement in learning while also creating possibilities for compulsive engagement. Drawing on a sociotechnical affordance perspective, this study examines how configurations of affordances are associated with meaningful and compulsive engagement and how these pathways vary across demographic conditions. Using a mixed-methods design, we first uncover the core affordances of VILPs and organize them within a sociotechnical perspective. We then employ a two-stage fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to examine affordance configurations associated with different engagement outcomes and the role of demographic conditions. The findings show that meaningful and compulsive engagement are associated with distinct combinations of affordances and these configurational patterns vary across demographic conditions. These findings advance understanding of VILP engagement by revealing the configurational pathways associated with meaningful and compulsive engagement and offering practical insights into designing more inclusive and responsible learning platforms.