Romina Carrasco Zuffi

I am a PhD candidate at the Microsoft Research Centre for Social Natural User Interfaces (NUIs) at the University of Melbourne.

 

I am understaken my second year of study under the supervision of Prof. Frank Vetere and Dr. Jenny Waycott.

 

In my PhD I am investigating how avatars can be use to provide older adults (65+) an opportunity for self-representation and empowerment. 

 

Avatars had shown to have significant consequences in the behavior of users not only in the digital environment but also in the physical world. These virtual representations of the identity may give users the possibility to embody activities that their bodies cannot perform anymore. Nevertheless, most of these studies had focused in younger audiences. Considering that older people make up the highest demographic growth in developed countries and that their participation in digital technologies is increasing; it is important to explore the role of avatars in ageing populations.