📝 SummarXiv

Abstract

We investigate youth visions for ideal remote social interactions, drawing on co-design interviews with 23 participants (aged 15-24) experienced with 3D gaming environments. Using a Fictional Inquiry (FI) method set in the Harry Potter universe, this research reveals that young people desire social media that functions more like immersive, navigable shared social spaces. Across these interviews, participants identified six key priorities for meaningful social connection over social media: intuitive social navigation, shared collaborative experiences, communal environments fostering close relationships, flexible self-presentation, intentional engagement, and playful social mechanics. We introduce the \textit{spatial integrity} framework, a set of four interrelated design principles: spatial presence, spatial composition, spatial configuration, and spatial depth. Together, these principles outline how online spaces can be designed to feel more like meaningful environments, spaces where relationships can grow through shared presence, movement, and intentional interaction. Participants also described the FI process itself as meaningful, not only for generating new ideas but for empowering them to imagine and shape the future of social media.