Preferred distance from camera for online interactions and its relation with individual differences in pathogen sensitivity

Abstract

Humans maintain distance from others in their interpersonal interactions and this has been documented in previous research in real-world scenarios. However, thanks to telecommunication technologies, humans are also interacting online with each other. While individuals are competent in adjusting their interpersonal distance based on their own preferences and others' considerations in a real-world situation, they might not be as competent in their online interactions. The aim of the current study is twofold: a) to investigate individuals’ preferred distance from a camera both for themselves and others while in an online interaction, and b) to test whether individual differences in pathogen sensitivity influence their preferred distances in an online interaction. Participants (N = 159) were asked to indicate their comfort distance from a camera for themselves and others while interacting in an online scenario. The distance from the camera varied systematically from 50 cm to 200 cm. Results showed that participants preferred to stand 80 cm–120 cm from a camera. As for the avatars that the participants viewed online, men and women preferred female avatars to stand between 80 cm and 130 cm from a camera, and male avatars to stand between 80 cm and 150 cm from a camera. And although the chances of contracting a disease online is zero, we found that germ aversion and concern about contracting COVID-19 were associated with the preferred distances from the camera. We attribute this result to a false positive error in social cognition.