The Impacts of Online Experience on Health and Well-Being: The Overlooked Aesthetic Dimension
It is well-recognized that online experience can carry profound impacts on health and well-being, particularly for young people. Research has already documented influences from cyberbullying, heightened feelings of inadequacy, and the relative decline of face-to-face interactions and active lifestyl...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Virtual Worlds |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-2084/2/3/15 |
| _version_ | 1797576416865288192 |
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| author | Tim Gorichanaz Alexandros A. Lavdas Michael W. Mehaffy Nikos A. Salingaros |
| author_facet | Tim Gorichanaz Alexandros A. Lavdas Michael W. Mehaffy Nikos A. Salingaros |
| author_sort | Tim Gorichanaz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is well-recognized that online experience can carry profound impacts on health and well-being, particularly for young people. Research has already documented influences from cyberbullying, heightened feelings of inadequacy, and the relative decline of face-to-face interactions and active lifestyles. Less attention has been given to the health impacts of aesthetic experiences of online users, particularly gamers and other users of immersive virtual reality (VR) technologies. However, a significant body of research has begun to document the surprisingly strong yet previously unrecognized impacts of aesthetic experiences on health and well-being in other arenas of life. Other researchers have used both fixed laboratory and wearable sensors and, to a lesser extent, user surveys to measure indicators of activation level, mood, and stress level, which detect physiological markers for health. In this study, we assessed the evidence that online sensorial experience is no less important than in the physical world, with the capacity for both harmful effects and salutogenic benefits. We explore the implications for online design and propose an outline for further research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:52:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-962be89609e34b98917f47c5647f6bd3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2813-2084 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:52:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Virtual Worlds |
| spelling | doaj.art-962be89609e34b98917f47c5647f6bd32023-11-19T13:21:31ZengMDPI AGVirtual Worlds2813-20842023-08-012324326610.3390/virtualworlds2030015The Impacts of Online Experience on Health and Well-Being: The Overlooked Aesthetic DimensionTim Gorichanaz0Alexandros A. Lavdas1Michael W. Mehaffy2Nikos A. Salingaros3College of Computing and Informatics, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAEurac Research, Institute for Biomedicine, Affiliated Institute of the University of Lübeck, Via Galvani 31, 39100 Bolzano, ItalySustasis Foundation, P.O. Box 2579, White Salmon, WA 98672, USADepartments of Mathematics and Architecture, University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249, USAIt is well-recognized that online experience can carry profound impacts on health and well-being, particularly for young people. Research has already documented influences from cyberbullying, heightened feelings of inadequacy, and the relative decline of face-to-face interactions and active lifestyles. Less attention has been given to the health impacts of aesthetic experiences of online users, particularly gamers and other users of immersive virtual reality (VR) technologies. However, a significant body of research has begun to document the surprisingly strong yet previously unrecognized impacts of aesthetic experiences on health and well-being in other arenas of life. Other researchers have used both fixed laboratory and wearable sensors and, to a lesser extent, user surveys to measure indicators of activation level, mood, and stress level, which detect physiological markers for health. In this study, we assessed the evidence that online sensorial experience is no less important than in the physical world, with the capacity for both harmful effects and salutogenic benefits. We explore the implications for online design and propose an outline for further research.https://www.mdpi.com/2813-2084/2/3/15virtual worldvirtual realityaugmented realityimmersive environmentvisual appealhealing environment |
| spellingShingle | Tim Gorichanaz Alexandros A. Lavdas Michael W. Mehaffy Nikos A. Salingaros The Impacts of Online Experience on Health and Well-Being: The Overlooked Aesthetic Dimension Virtual Worlds virtual world virtual reality augmented reality immersive environment visual appeal healing environment |
| title | The Impacts of Online Experience on Health and Well-Being: The Overlooked Aesthetic Dimension |
| title_full | The Impacts of Online Experience on Health and Well-Being: The Overlooked Aesthetic Dimension |
| title_fullStr | The Impacts of Online Experience on Health and Well-Being: The Overlooked Aesthetic Dimension |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impacts of Online Experience on Health and Well-Being: The Overlooked Aesthetic Dimension |
| title_short | The Impacts of Online Experience on Health and Well-Being: The Overlooked Aesthetic Dimension |
| title_sort | impacts of online experience on health and well being the overlooked aesthetic dimension |
| topic | virtual world virtual reality augmented reality immersive environment visual appeal healing environment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-2084/2/3/15 |
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