From Barriers to Blueprints: A Critical Systematic Review of Older Adults and Social VR

The dominant narrative in HCI positions older adults as struggling to adopt virtual reality (VR), framing resistance as user deficit. We challenge this through a critical systematic review of 85 papers (2017–2024) using resistant reading, adapted from feminist literary theory. Our analysis surfaces 284 instances documented as “adoption failures” but reinterpreted as design intelligence. We identify a “Vicious Cycle of Deficit-Focused Inquiry” whereby researchers document friction, interpret it as inadequacy, and design “solutions” reproducing deficit assumptions. This cycle operates across four dimensions: Activity (prescribed tasks vs. authentic presence), Embodiment (prosthetic correction vs. embodied dignity), Environment (spatial rescue vs. permeable boundaries), and Accessibility (independence vs. interdependence). We contribute resistant reading as method for meta-analysis, empirical evidence of institutional epistemic injustice in HCI, and four Critical Re-Orientations reframing friction as testimony about systemic inadequacy. Documented resistance constitutes a coherent critique of platforms designed for gaming rather than comfort, agency, and connection.