You Don't Belong Here: Ableist Microaggressions on Adolescents with Disability(ies) and Special Needs in Social Virtual Reality (VR)

Abstract

The advent of the metaverse promises to revolutionize technology-mediated social interaction by seamlessly merging the physical and digital worlds. However, the experiences of adolescents with disabilities and special needs in social virtual reality spaces remain under-explored. This position paper delves into the issue of ableism and microaggressions as a sociotechnical challenge that can perpetuate and exacerbate harmful attitudes and behaviors towards adolescents with disabilities and special needs in social virtual reality.

Keywords: Disability, social VR, social virtual reality, accessibility, microaggression, ableism, teenagers