Obscuring Undesirable Individuals to Alleviate Social Discomfort Using Diminished Reality

Paper Title

Obscuring Undesirable Individuals to Alleviate Social Discomfort Using Diminished Reality

Publication Info

• Topic area: Human-computer interaction (HCI) focusing on social avoidance through Diminished Reality (DR).
• Keywords: Diminished Reality, social discomfort, mixed reality, social presence, social anxiety, occlusion methods, ethical acceptance, technology acceptance, interpersonal interaction, social distance.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Existing HCI research emphasizes fostering social connections but lacks exploration of technologies that support avoidance-oriented social situations. Current approaches fail to address discomfort caused by undesirable individuals in shared spaces.
• Significance: Reducing social discomfort can improve psychological well-being and task focus in everyday interactions, especially in professional or public settings.
• Motivation and related work: Prior research shows that diminishing perceived social presence can alleviate emotional strain. Mixed Reality (MR) and Diminished Reality (DR) technologies have demonstrated potential for perceptual regulation in various domains, but their application in interpersonal avoidance contexts remains underexplored.

Solution

• Proposed approach: A mixed reality prototype leveraging Diminished Reality (DR) to obscure visual and behavioral cues of undesirable individuals, aiming to reduce social anxiety and presence.
• Novelty:
  1. Introduces "avoided individual" as a design target for diminishing social presence.
  2. Systematically evaluates the effects of DR on social anxiety and presence across occlusion methods and social distances.
  3. Examines ethical implications of DR-based social occlusion from multiple perspectives.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Developed a prototype using Apple Vision Pro to simulate office scenarios with virtual "avoided individuals."
  • Manipulated social distance (close, medium, far) and occlusion methods (Baseline, Eye Masking, Semi-transparent, Wireframe, Geometric Occlusion).
  • Conducted experiments with 62 participants, measuring social anxiety, social presence, technology acceptance, and ethical acceptance using validated scales and semi-structured interviews.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • All DR occlusion methods significantly reduced social anxiety compared to the baseline condition. Semi-transparent occlusion was most effective in mitigating anxiety and reducing social presence.
  • Social distance did not significantly influence the effectiveness of DR occlusion, though subjective preferences varied across distances.
  • Technology acceptance scores were high, with participants perceiving the occlusion function as useful and expressing willingness to use it in future scenarios.
  • Ethical acceptance was generally positive, with concerns primarily focused on fairness, informedness, and dehumanization risks.
• Advantage over baselines:
  • DR occlusion reduced interaction anxiety (median scores: Semi-transparent = 1.50 vs. Baseline = 2.67) and observation anxiety (Semi-transparent = 1.75 vs. Baseline = 2.65).
  • Semi-transparent occlusion consistently outperformed other methods in reducing social presence indicators such as co-presence and emotional interdependence.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Mixed experimental design (3 social distances × 5 occlusion types).
  • Measured social anxiety, social presence, technology acceptance, and ethical acceptance using validated scales.
  • Conducted semi-structured interviews to explore subjective experiences and ethical reflections.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Focused solely on visual modifications; future work should explore multisensory cues (e.g., auditory, tactile).
  • Ethical risks such as misuse, exclusion, or dehumanization require further investigation and regulatory frameworks.
  • Did not incorporate direct perspectives of "obscured individuals"; future studies should adopt a dual-perspective approach.

Summary

This study introduces a mixed reality prototype leveraging Diminished Reality (DR) to reduce social discomfort by obscuring undesirable individuals. Results demonstrate that DR significantly mitigates social anxiety and presence, with semi-transparent occlusion being the most effective method. Participants expressed positive attitudes toward the technology's usefulness and ethical acceptability, though concerns about fairness and dehumanization were noted. The findings highlight the potential of DR to support selective social disengagement in shared spaces, offering practical guidance for future applications while emphasizing the need for ethical safeguards.