Diffusing Social Boundaries through Virtual Bodies: How Mixed Reality Embodied Experiences Can Foster Social Connection

Virtual and Mixed Reality (XR) offer new opportunities for supporting social connection by reshaping embodied interaction and transforming social norms. We present Body RemiXer, an asymmetric XR installation designed to foster connection by inviting interpersonal touch, abstracting identity through ethereal avatars, encouraging synchronized interaction, and enabling impossible forms of shared embodiment. Through phenomenological interviews, we investigated how these design tactics mediated participants’ sense of connection. Our analysis reveals both potentials and tensions: abstraction lowered inhibitions and highlighted shared humanness but risked depersonalization; body mixing fostered unity but challenged virtual body ownership; mediated touch evoked closeness, but reminded of physical reality; and participants navigated bifurcated social norms across physical and virtual spaces. We contribute a nuanced account of these design trade-offs, advancing understanding of how abstraction, embodiment, touch, and social norm negotiation shape connection in XR, and outlining design considerations for crafting social XR experiences.