"Feeling that I was Collaborating with Them:" A 20-year Scoping Review of Social Virtual Reality Leveraging Collaboration

Abstract

As more people meet, interact, and socialize online, Social Virtual Reality (VR) emerges as a technology that bridges the gap between traditional face-to-face and online communication. Unlike traditional screen-based applications, Social VR provides immersive, spatial, and three-dimensional social interactions, making it a potential tool for enhancing remote collaborations. Despite the growing interest in Social VR, research on its role in collaboration remains fragmented, calling for a synthesis to identify research gaps and future directions. We conducted a 20-year scoping review, screening 2,035 articles and identifying 62 articles that addressed how Social VR has supported collaboration. Our analysis shows three key levels of support: Social VR can enhance individual perceptions and experiences within their groups, foster team dynamics with virtual elements that enable realistic interactions, and employ the unique affordances of VR to augment users' spaces. We discuss how future research in Social VR should move beyond replicating physical-world interactions and explore how immersive environments can cultivate long-term collaboration, trust, and more diverse and inclusive participation. This review highlights the current practices and challenges, highlighting new opportunities for theorizing and designing Social VR systems that responsibly support remote collaborations.