[At a time when many of us are stuck inside our homes, this story from The Washington Post cites research to explain how experiences of mediated nature including in video games and virtual reality have many of the same psychological and physiological benefits as nonmediated nature; though not discussed explicitly, the important role of presence is clear. See the original story for two more pictures. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: The Washington Post; iStock] Can virtual nature be a good substitute for the great outdoors? The science says yes. By Lewis Gordon, a video game and culture writer whose work has appeared…

[Two recent stories by the same author in Forbes describe the value and limitations of mediated social presence. The story below focuses on a new study of eye gaze in nonmediated and two mediated contexts. The second, “How To Be Social Without People,” focuses on a study of strategies involving nonmediated and mediated experiences that people use to feel “more socially included and connected”; here’s an excerpt: “[T]he authors created a new measure they called the ‘Social Fuel Tank.’ They told study participants that they could fill this tank with different types of ‘fuel.’ These social strategies could mean all…

[With a little imagination and selective use of technology, a family can go on a virtual campout even during stay-at-home restrictions, as described in this story from Outside Online. In related news, many Scouting organizations are holding virtual campouts that incorporate a variety of activities that take advantage of presence-evoking technology; for details see an example in the Austin American-Statesman and coverage of more ways Scouts are continuing their activities together while at home in Scouting Magazine. –Matthew] Throw Your Kids a Quarantine Campout Set up a tent, turn off your screens, and enjoy some family bonding—without leaving home Krista…

[The pandemic is changing many aspects of life and culture; this opinion piece in Artnet argues that presence-evoking technologies are the key to making significant, needed changes in how we engage with art after the pandemic ends. See the original version for three more pictures. –Matthew] [Image: Cao Fei’s The Eternal Wave (2020). Credit: Still courtesy of the artist and Acute Art.] In the Changed World After Lockdown, We Will Need Smarter New Ways to Interact With Art. I Believe Virtual Reality Is the Answer Acute Art’s artistic director explores how VR might offer an alternative mode of art-making and…

[Zoom and other video conferencing platforms are an invaluable communication tool now more than ever and provide a relatively high level of presence to users, but they are also exhausting. This thoughtful analysis from The Convivial Society examines some of the presence-related and other reasons. For more on this topic see stories from the BBC, Wall Street Journal (by our colleague Jeremy Bailenson; requires subscription), and Fast Company. For an analysis of media alternatives based on bandwidth and immediacy see a post in the IDDblog from the Center for Teaching and Learning at DePaul University.–Matthew] A Theory of Zoom Fatigue…

[The 4:20 minute film in this story from dezeen explores how virtual reality is the latest and most advanced technology for creating social and spatial presence (though the term isn’t used). The original story includes seven different images and the film is also available via YouTube. The video and more images and information are available on the Space Popular website. –Matthew] Swapping video calls for VR will change our homes forever says Space Popular Amy Frearson 20 April 2020 This movie [available in the original story] by Space Popular explores how virtual reality could become as widespread as the video…

[The pandemic has led to an increase in informal, intimate mediated concerts likely to evoke multiple forms of presence, as reported in this story from VOX (where the original includes nine video examples). See in particular the material following the added heading “[Presence-evoking characteristics of live streamed concerts]” and the last two short paragraphs. For another vivid example, see the recording of a Facebook Live living room concert by Eileen Jewel that I “attended” recently. For more information see NPR’s updated list of future concerts and CNBC’s coverage that focuses on “the future of the livestreamed concert beyond coronavirus.”…

[CNN is one of several press outlets reporting on an animal sanctuary’s clever way of entertaining and educating as they connect people with farm animals via Zoom (I seriously considered booking a “Goat-2-Meeting” for our next department meeting but they’re booked until June). Business Insider’s coverage adds that “Goat 2 Meeting is just one example of the innovative projects and offerings that have popped up in recent weeks to bring people together virtually.” and KQED adds “’There is a strong need for people to really get out, even through this vicarious video screen,’ said Sweet Farm co-founder Nate Salpeter.”…

[Warning: Adult content. Sexuality is a common but under studied and discussed application area for presence. As this concise and link-filled story from The Conversation states, in the current global situation “digital technology has never been so central to human sexual and intimate connection.” See the original story for a different image. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Cosmopolitan] Online sex parties and virtual reality porn: Can sex in isolation be as fulfilling as real life? April 16, 2020 Jennifer Power, Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University Andrea Waling, ARC DECRA Research fellow,…

[In non-pandemic presence news, researchers at Stanford have developed a new system for augmented reality that makes virtual objects appear more solid, as reported in this story from IEEE Spectrum. For more information including images and a video, see the website of the study’s lead author, Brooke Krajancich. And in an at-least-peripherally related development, an international group of researchers has developed “a learning-based approach for removing unwanted obstructions, such as window reflections, fence occlusions or raindrops, from a short sequence of images captured by a moving camera” – for full details and impressive demonstrations see the project’s website; for a…

[Even if virtual meetings could fully replicate nonmediated communication they wouldn’t solve the many problems with human interactions, but as this story in The New York Times explains, the reduced experience of presence in meetings via video conferencing can amplify gender and personality-based inequities. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Shannon May] It’s Not Just You: Virtual Meetings Aren’t All That Great Overlapping chatter. Interruptions. Gaffes on camera. And for women, possibly not being heard at all. By Alisha Haridasani Gupta April 14, 2020 “Everything that we think is going to be an equalizer turns out not to be.” — Deborah Tannen, professor…

[There are still significant practical and technical issues to resolve, but this story from IEEE Spectrum explains why virtual reality will increasingly provide rich social presence experiences superior to today’s commonly used video conferencing systems (e.g., Zoom). See the original story for a second image. –Matthew] [Image: Virtual meeting on the Engage platform. Credit: Immersive VR Education] Forget Video Conferencing—Host Your Next Meeting in VR Recent advances have made VR the superior technology for conferences and meetings, some experts claim By Edd Gent 13 April 2020 With workers confined to their homes by the coronavirus pandemic, video conferencing is providing…