Bodyless Presence: Reconsidering the Minimal Self in Immersive Video
Recent research delves into the unique experience of self in immersive video, challenging conventional understandings of presence and the minimal self. The study, detailed in arXiv:2605.03873v1, focuses on 180-degree and 360-degree video formats delivered through head-mounted displays, positioning them as a critical boundary case intersecting interactive virtual reality (VR) and traditional two-dimensional video. This investigation offers a phenomenological reinterpretation of how individuals experience their self within these digital environments, particularly when a corresponding body is absent or its schema is deemphasized.
Immersive video, by its very nature, can evoke a powerful sense of 'being there' for the user. However, this sense of presence is achieved without the full bodily representation or extensive interactive capabilities typically found in more complex VR systems. The research posits that this specific configuration, where users primarily navigate through head rotation while lacking substantial sensorimotor contingency, creates a distinct form of self-experience. This distinction becomes crucial for a deeper academic understanding of selfhood within extended reality (XR) contexts.
The Unique Nature of Immersive Video Experiences
Immersive video stands apart from other forms of digital media due to its ability to generate a compelling sense of presence while simultaneously offering limited avenues for active intervention. Unlike interactive VR, where users might manipulate virtual objects or move freely within a simulated space, immersive video primarily presents a pre-recorded environment. This setup restricts stable agency or ownership over the virtual happenings. Users cannot actively intervene in the recorded environment, which differentiates it from interactive VR where manipulation and interaction are core components.
Despite these limitations, the experience remains profoundly personal. Events within the immersive video – such as viewpoint motion, perceived impacts, or direct addresses from characters within the recording – are not merely perceived as abstract changes in a visual image. Instead, they are experienced directly as events that intimately concern the position and status of the self. This fundamental aspect underscores the unique way in which self-experience is constructed within this particular medium.
The research emphasizes that even without a virtual body or extensive interactivity, the user's perception of self is deeply engaged. This engagement points to a form of presence that does not rely on traditional notions of bodily extension or the ownership of an avatar, which are often discussed in the context of VR. Instead, a different mechanism appears to be at play, one that the study aims to elucidate through its phenomenological lens.
Reinterpreting Presence: Beyond Bodily Extension and Avatar Ownership
From a phenomenological standpoint, the paper reinterprets the concept of presence in immersive video. It moves beyond the established frameworks that often link presence to the bodily extension into a virtual world or the ownership of an avatar within that world. In the context of immersive video, the research suggests that presence manifests differently due to the inherent characteristics of the medium.
The core argument presented is that presence in these scenarios should not be understood primarily through the lens of body ownership or the feeling of having a virtual body. Instead, it is theorized as a form of self-experience where self-location becomes relatively dominant. This dominance occurs specifically under conditions where the availability of a robust body schema is reduced. The body schema, which represents our implicit awareness of our body's position and capabilities in space, is less engaged in immersive video when compared to fully interactive VR experiences where a virtual body is often present and controllable.
Therefore, when the usual cues for bodily extension and avatar ownership are diminished, the self-experience shifts, foregrounding the sense of being located at a specific point in space. This perspective provides a novel way to conceptualize how users relate to the digital environment, even when explicit bodily representation is absent. The study highlights that the very act of viewing a 180-degree or 360-degree video through a head-mounted display inherently places the viewer 'within' the scene, spatially.
Introducing the Self-Location-Dominant State
To accurately describe this specific condition of self-experience in immersive video, the paper introduces the concept of a 'self-location-dominant state'. This term encapsulates the scenario where the primary mode of self-experience is characterized by the dominance of self-location, particularly when the body schema is only minimally engaged or backgrounded. In essence, the user's perception of 'where I am' takes precedence and organizes the self-experience, rather than 'what my body is doing' or 'what body I inhabit'.
The limited sensorimotor contingency offered by head rotation in immersive video plays a crucial role in fostering this state. While head movements allow for a degree of exploration within the 3D space of the video, they do not enable manipulation or complex interaction. This limited interaction reinforces the idea that the user is primarily a spatially located observer rather than an active agent affecting the environment. The focus shifts from action and its consequences to the experience of being situated.
This state is distinct because, despite the inability to actively intervene or establish stable agency, the immersive quality ensures that the events unfolding are not distant or objective. Instead, they impact the perceived self directly. The feeling of being 'there' is maintained, not through active engagement, but through the compelling sense of spatial positioning relative to the unfolding events.
Redefining the Minimal Self in Immersive Contexts
The research fundamentally redescribes the minimal self within immersive video. Traditionally, discussions of the minimal self in virtual environments might touch upon agency (the sense of being the author of one's actions) or ownership (the sense of possessing a body or an avatar). However, in the context of immersive video, where active agency is difficult to establish and a virtual body is often absent, these traditional aspects are less central.
Instead, the minimal self in immersive video is characterized primarily as a self spatially located at a viewpoint. This emphasizes the spatial rather than the action-oriented or embodied aspects of self-experience. The body schema, which typically provides a consistent sense of one's physical self and its boundaries, remains backgrounded in these experiences. This means that while perceptual information is processed, the conscious and active representation of one's physical body in space is not the primary determinant of self-awareness within the immersive scene.
Therefore, the experience of being 'me' in immersive video is less about 'my actions' or 'my body' and more about 'my position' within the presented reality. This subtle but significant shift in emphasis provides a new framework for understanding the basic building blocks of self-experience when immersed in pre-recorded 3D video content. It highlights that the minimal self is more adaptable and can foreground different aspects depending on the specific characteristics of the immersive technology.
Connecting Research on Presence, Embodiment, and Minimal Self
This phenomenological perspective offers a crucial linkage between several key research areas within the broader field of XR and self-perception. It connects established research on presence – the subjective feeling of being in a virtual environment – with studies on the sense of embodiment, which often explores how we perceive and integrate our physical or virtual bodies, and the minimal self, which investigates the most basic, pre-reflective forms of self-awareness.
By proposing self-location as a central analytic axis, the paper provides a cohesive framework for theorizing self-experience specifically in immersive video. This framework suggests that understanding 'where' the self is perceived to be located is paramount for unraveling the complexities of user experience in these environments, especially when other traditional markers of selfhood (like agency or body ownership) are attenuated. The focus on self-location offers a new entry point for researchers to investigate how sense of self is maintained and modulated by varying technological affordances.
The research contributes significantly to the ongoing discourse about how digital technologies reshape human perception and self-awareness. It implies that different immersive media engage different facets of the self, and that these differences should be meticulously analyzed to build a comprehensive understanding of human-computer interaction in XR. The self-location-dominant state, therefore, is not just a description but also a directive for future investigations into subjective experience within technologically mediated realities.
Implications for Future Research and Development
The nuanced understanding of self-experience in immersive video, particularly the concept of a 'self-location-dominant state,' has several implications. It serves as a foundation for further research into how users emotionally and cognitively respond to immersive video content. If self-location is indeed the dominant factor, then design choices that enhance or manipulate this sense of location could profoundly affect user engagement and immersion.
For developers creating immersive video content, this research suggests focusing on elements that reinforce the viewer's sense of being precisely situated within the scene. Rather than striving for full interactivity that may not be achievable in a pre-recorded format, attention could be directed towards optimizing spatial cues, viewpoint stability, and the directional nature of events within the video to maximize the feeling of 'being there' as a spatially located self. This could include aspects such as careful camera placement, motion dynamics, and audio spatialization.
Furthermore, understanding that stable agency or ownership is difficult to establish in immersive video helps set realistic expectations for the medium's capabilities and user experiences. Instead of attempting to force interactive paradigms onto pre-recorded content, the focus can shift to refining the unique strengths of immersive video, such as its capacity for powerful, spatially grounded observational experiences. This research provides a theoretical underpinning for distinguishing immersive video from other VR applications and for understanding its specific contributions to the spectrum of XR technologies.