Avatar Communication Provides More Efficient Online Social Support Than Text Communication

TL;DR

This study addresses whether avatar-based online communication yields more online social support than text-based communication and how this relates to offline resources. Using a large Japanese cross-sectional survey (N=8,947) across three avatar services (Second Life, ZEPETO, Pigg Party) and three text services (Facebook, X, Instagram), the authors measure perceived online/offline social support, online relational mobility, loneliness, and offline bullying, applying PCA and ANOVA. They find that avatar users experience greater online social support and more stable online relationships but have weaker offline resources, with a stronger positive link between online and offline support within avatar services. The results underscore the value of realistic, nonverbal online interactions in metaverse contexts and suggest platform designs to bolster offline social resources through enhanced online support. These findings have implications for managing social resources in future metaverse societies and for platform interventions aimed at improving ego-network connectivity.

Abstract

Online communication via avatars provides a richer online social experience than text communication. This reinforces the importance of online social support. Online social support is effective for people who lack social resources because of the anonymity of online communities. We aimed to understand online social support via avatars and their social relationships to provide better social support to avatar users. Therefore, we administered a questionnaire to three avatar communication service users (Second Life, ZEPETO, and Pigg Party) and three text communication service users (Facebook, X, and Instagram) (N=8,947). There was no duplication of users for each service. By comparing avatar and text communication users, we examined the amount of online social support, stability of online relationships, and the relationships between online social support and offline social resources (e.g., offline social support). We observed that avatar communication service users received more online social support, had more stable relationships, and had fewer offline social resources than text communication service users. However, the positive association between online and offline social support for avatar communication users was more substantial than for text communication users. These findings highlight the significance of realistic online communication experiences through avatars, including nonverbal and real-time interactions with co-presence. The findings also highlighted avatar communication service users' problems in the physical world, such as the lack of offline social resources. This study suggests that enhancing online social support through avatars can address these issues. This could help resolve social resource problems, both online and offline in future metaverse societies.

Figures (11)

• Figure 1: Screen shots of avatar communication services (image sources: Second Life: https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/14709-season's-greetings-from-linden-lab/, ZEPETO: https://x.com/zepeto_official/status/1617327573234589698, and Pigg Party: Yokotani2021_chb2).
• Figure 2: Result of ANOVA for perceived online social support, where $F(5, 8937) = 130.899; p\mathrm{-value} < 0.001$. Points show coefficients and error bars show standard errors, with Facebook as a reference category. The following figures also indicate the same presentation of this figure.
• Figure 3: Result of ANOVA for online relational mobility, where $F(5, 8937) = 43.81; p\mathrm{-value} < 0.001$
• Figure 4: Result of ANOVA for perceived online social support from family, where $F(5, 8937) = 42.631; p\mathrm{-value} < 0.001$ and $F(5, 8937) = 16.391; p\mathrm{-value} < 0.001$, respectively
• Figure 5: Result of ANOVA for perceived online social support from offline friends, where $F(5, 8937) = 42.631; p\mathrm{-value} < 0.001$ and $F(5, 8937) = 16.391; p\mathrm{-value} < 0.001$, respectively