Editorial: Unlocking the potential of XR: shaping a pro-social metaverse

1 Introduction

Over the last few years, advances in Extended Reality (XR), encompassing Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) have created unprecedented opportunities for developing immersive experiences aimed at promoting empathy, inclusivity, and positive social change. However, because XR technologies directly mediate human perception through head-mounted displays, environmental mapping, and real-time biometric tracking, they also bring forth a new set of challenges (Cork et al.). These capabilities exacerbate traditional online harms while introducing visceral new concerns regarding data privacy, security, and perceptual manipulation (Cork et al.).

A pro-social metaverse uses XR as the medium to bring people together for immersive, synchronous face-to-face interaction with positive social outcomes. This Research Topic brings together seven contributions ranging from comprehensive literature reviews to innovative empirical research that collectively examine how we can leverage XR to shape such a pro-social metaverse. Showcasing the collaborative efforts of 36 authors across multiple disciplines, this edition provides insights into advancing human wellbeing through haptics, co-presence, ethical governance, and inclusive design.

To highlight the work published in this Research Topic, the contributions have been organized into four core thematic areas:

2 Ethical governance and inclusive platforms

For XR to achieve its pro-social potential, it must be built on a foundation of responsible innovation. Cork et al. lay this groundwork by proposing a comprehensive policy framework centered on three guiding principles: Trust, Agency, and Inclusivity, underpinned by a commitment to future-proofing. They argue that overcoming the unique vulnerabilities of XR requires moving beyond “blind trust” toward transparent, privacy-by-design architectures and adaptive oversight that actively protect marginalized communities from exploitation (Cork et al.).

3 Avatars, co-presence, and social interaction

As virtual environments scale, the role of Virtual Humans (VHs) as our digital proxies becomes paramount. Chandran et al. provide an in-depth scoping review of 59 studies analyzing VHs as socio-emotional agents. They identify a crucial triad in avatar design sociability, fidelity, and facial expression highlighting that the optimal level of realism is highly context-dependent. While photorealism may foster trust in professional settings, stylized avatars can be highly effective in avoiding the “uncanny valley” during educational or playful interactions (Chandran et al.).

Addressing the physical barriers to in-person co-presence, Kullmann et al. tackle the paradox of XR headsets physically obscuring the upper face during co-located interactions. By introducing “see-through visor” and “head substitution” techniques, they digitally composite a personalized avatar’s face onto the wearer. Their study suggests that restoring access to occluded nonverbal gaze cues results in quicker consensus and enhanced mutual understanding during collaborative tasks, even if users still perceive the digital avatars as somewhat uncanny (Kullmann et al.).

Expanding these interpersonal dynamics to a massive scale, Guang et al. investigate audience experiences in Virtual Live (VL) events. Their research demonstrates that increasing the proportion of user-controlled, rhythm-synchronized audience avatars as opposed to uniformly scripted “dummy” avatars significantly boosts participants’ subjective presence and feelings of social unity. This finding indicates that movement diversity is essential for fostering emotional engagement in virtual crowds (Guang et al.).

4 Multisensory enhancements and cognitive interfaces

Beyond visual and social representation, multisensory integration is vital for profound emotional regulation. Schwartz et al. explore audio-tactile musical experiences, utilizing a novel algorithm that translates audio frequencies into haptic vibrations. They report that this synchronized multisensory stimulation significantly increases positive emotional valence and decreases state anxiety, an effect that is remarkably amplified when users are granted the autonomy to select their own music (Schwartz et al.).

To objectively quantify these complex haptic experiences, Alsuradi et al. leverage EEG-based deep learning models across four sensory modalities: delayed force, fingertip vibration, upper-body vibration, and thermal feedback. Their results indicate that neural decoding models trained on objective Physical Stimulation (PS) parameters are significantly more stable and robust than those relying on Self-Reported (SR) labels, particularly near perceptual thresholds where human subjectivity and uncertainty vary widely (Alsuradi et al.).

5 Therapeutic and psychological assessment

Demonstrating XR’s transformative potential in clinical and therapeutic applications, Qian et al. introduce an innovative VR paradigm for assessing Fear of Intimacy (FOI). By immersing users in simulated romantic role-play scenarios involving couple conflict, they successfully correlate implicit in-game behaviors such as psychological distance, gaze, and conflict-resolution choices with established FOI and attachment anxiety scores. This approach may offer clinicians a promising complement to traditional, time-consuming psychotherapy and self-report scales (Qian et al.).

6 Outlook

The collective findings from these seven studies demonstrate XR’s growing significance in social, therapeutic, and collaborative applications. As XR advances, there is an escalating need for research that thoughtfully integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI), brain-computer interfaces (BCI), and haptics to enhance personalization and societal impact. However, as outlined throughout this Research Topic, the ethical implications ranging from data privacy to algorithmic bias must be rigorously and proactively addressed. We invite readers to immerse themselves in these contributions, which collectively chart a robust path toward building immersive virtual worlds that prioritize human wellbeing, equity, and authentic connection.