What Predicts Users' Sense of Presence ('Being There') in Virtual Reality Experiences?

This omnibus study investigates if user characteristics (specifically, age, gender, and previous immersive technology (XR) experience) and enjoyment of a VR experience can predict users’ sense of presence (the “sense of ‘being there’ in the virtual environment”) in VR experiences. Survey data from six VR experiences researched by StoryFutures (part of Royal Holloway, University of London) between 2019 and 2022 was combined for data analysis, using multiple regression. The best model included the variables enjoyment of the VR experience, participants having no or little previous XR experience (i.e., a novelty effect), and gender (females reported slightly higher presence, albeit n.s.). Age and which VR experience were of less importance when it came to predicting presence.