npub1zl…22n8p on Nostr: Loneliness is a subjective mental condition resulting from the mismatch between an ...

Loneliness is a subjective mental condition resulting from the mismatch between an individual’s desired and actual social relationships. Statistics from New Zealand indicate a strong correlation between loneliness and poor mental health, with recent migrants identified as a primary group experiencing significant loneliness. According to Loneliness NZ [83], 28% of recent migrants in New Zealand report feeling lonely, making them the second most lonely group. The primary reasons of loneliness among migrants include missing their culture, family, and identity, which leads them to feel a lack of presence in their new surroundings. This absence of cultural connectedness hinders the formation of meaningful relationships, causing voluntary social disconnection and intensifying feelings of loneliness. Current interventions for loneliness among migrant communities lack cultural sensitivity. Existing digital interventions often require initial community connection, which conflicts with the behaviors of lonely migrants. Most research on loneliness has been conducted from a western perspective. In New Zealand, statistics and research often cluster diverse ethnic backgrounds into single categories, with a predominant focus on older adults. This research aims to explore the role of culturally sensitive immersive technological interventions in addressing loneliness among migrants. The goal is to investigate how a sense of presence could be created through virtual reality (VR) experiences with the help of cultural elementsto alleviate loneliness of migrant adults (aged 18-65) in New Zealand.