VR and Social Identity: the utilisation of Virtual Reality Technology for the study of Social Identity in children with a migrant background situated in Greece
Kyriaki Thoidou & Vasilios Zorbas

This case study examines the use of virtual reality for comprehension of children's social identity. More specifically, it investigates whether virtual reality can be assistive in social identity discovery. In this context, virtual reality refers to the utilization of 360° panoramic photography as well as commonly used (smartphones) and inexpensive devices (VR Headset for mobile phones). Three different qualitative tools were employed: semi-structured interviews, social location maps and identity texts. Data were collected from the two siblings with a migrant background as well as their immigrant parents. The findings showed that VR was assistive in the vivid, in-depth detection of social identity. Moreover, their creations highlighted the progression of the participants' social identity through time and space. Their social identity changed just by virtually visiting different places. Symbolic representations regarding essential aspects of social identity as well as the need for inclusion emerged from this research. The children demonstrated their ideal inclusive Greek environments, which were different from their reality. Furthermore, theoretical reservations against the use of VR were also considered.

Key words: Social Identity, Virtual Reality, 360° panoramic photography, migrant background, social location maps, identity texts