Corporeal Interactions in <scp>VRChat</scp> : Situational Intensity and Body Synchronization

Erving Goffman's work on interaction in everyday life focuses joint spatio-temporal and face-to-face situations denies the constitution of social via mediatized interaction. In contrast, we argue that shared immersive media such as Social Virtual Reality enable intense, delocalized forms co-present interactions constitute closeness intimacy. By discussing Goffman context current works open up his perspective for mediatization, present an understanding intensity synchronized embodiment—physical, digital, corporeal. On VR platform VRChat, bodies allow intimate corporeal practices, cuddling, dancing, or cybersex. technology facilitates affective-bodily interaction, thereby contributing to negotiation intimacy—despite physical distance. Our findings are based a digital ethnographic analysis lifeworlds practices enthusiast VRChat-users, combined with qualitative semi-structured interviews.