VRChat: Addiction, or a Real Connection? — A Day with burung imut [Part 2]

🤝 [Part 5] VRChat community etiquette & how to communicate warmly

— What matters more than words is the “feeling.”

When you first enter VRChat,
the first thing you face is the distance between you and strangers.

“Should I start a conversation?”
“Would it be weird if I say hi first?”
“What if I say something wrong…?”

Thoughts like these keep circling in your head.
But don’t worry.
In this space, even without words, your feelings can come through.

Today, for anyone who wants to approach gently like Seojun,
I’ll put together some tips on how to communicate politely and warmly
in virtual reality. 😊

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🎈 1. Greetings are very simple

It’s okay not to speak.
Just give a small nod,
or wave your hand, and it’s more than enough as a greeting.

• 🙋‍♂️ A hand wave → feels like “Hi!”
• 🤝 Lightly reaching your hand forward → “Nice to meet you”
• 🙇‍♀️ Bowing your head → “Thank you” / “Excuse me”

With someone you’ve just met, “eye contact + a small gesture”
can instantly ease the mood! 😄

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🗣️ 2. Conversation is all about “tone”

In VRChat, even just your voice
can carry your emotions exactly as they are.

• Speaking too fast or too loudly can feel overwhelming to the other person.
• A calm tone and gentle way of speaking
  makes anyone feel at ease.

Tip: “If it’s okay with you, may I chat with you for a bit?”
If you ask like this, you’re already a considerate user!

---

🧡 3. Reactions can be stronger than conversation

When the other person is talking,
just showing small reactions
can create a much deeper connection.

• 😂 Laughing along
• 👏 Clapping
• 😲 An amazed “Really!?”
• 🫶 Putting a hand on your chest

In the virtual world, emotions can feel surprisingly honest.
The bigger your reactions, the stronger that person’s “presence” feels.
Just don’t overdo it—it can be a bit much. 😆

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🔇 4. What if you don’t feel like talking?

Some days you just don’t want to speak.
In that case, turn off your mic,
and express yourself with avatar movement or gestures only.

• An emote that covers your ears
• Turning your back
• A light wave as a “bye” gesture

That isn’t rude.
Most users in this world are used to it,
and they’ll understand, “Ah, they want to be quiet today.”

---

🚫 5. Please avoid these

• Suddenly getting too close (invading personal space)
• Overly affectionate behavior before you’re close (it can feel awkward or uncomfortable)
• Provocative topics or political talk (can lead to arguments)

Misunderstandings can happen easily depending on the avatar,
so it’s best to get to know each other first, read the vibe, and approach slowly.

---

🧠 6. It’s okay even if you don’t share a language

VRChat brings together users from all over the world.
It’s okay if you can’t understand each other’s words.

• 👋 Wave your hand,
• 😄 smile,
• 🫱💖 and show your feelings with a hand-heart gesture,

and that can become a conversation in itself.

Once, I couldn’t communicate at all with an Indonesian user,
but when I carefully approached and gently patted their head,
they smiled, clearly happy.
In that moment, I truly felt connected. ✨

---

💬 7. If you want to get closer, try this

1. “Your avatar is so cute! Where did you get it?”
2. “It’s my first time in a place like this—any worlds you recommend?”
3. “Want to explore some worlds together?”

A sincere compliment, a simple question, a light suggestion
Remember just these three, and you can become friends with anyone!

▼ See the previous post: from VRChat login to installation

VRChat 입문부터 감정의 연결까지 – 현실보다 진짜 같았던 순간들 [1편]

🔄 [Part 6] Addiction, or connection?

— Emotional balance, and a memory of a day with burung imut

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When I first started VRChat, it was just curiosity.
Meeting new people,
beautiful spaces,
that feeling of your heart getting through even without words…

But at some point,
when you start to love this world too much,
a question can suddenly pop into your mind.

“Is this… maybe addiction?”
“Or… am I truly connecting?”

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🌀 The end of immersion is always the “boundary of reality”

If you spend all day in VRChat playing with friends, talking, and roaming worlds,
it can start to feel like reality is slowly drifting away.

• When you stay logged in all night without noticing time pass,
• when you spend more time talking with VR friends than real-life friends,
• when the offline world suddenly feels too “quiet,”

that’s when you should pause for a moment
and ask yourself.

“Do I feel at ease right now?”
“Is this feeling connection—or avoidance?”

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🌱 One day, I found healing in the word “burung”

One day, by chance, I entered an Indonesian world.
There was a village like a small town, with characters walking around.
Birds, cows, swans, and even dogs…

Mixing in English, I asked how to say “bird.”

“Itu burung!” (That’s a bird.)

“Burung…?”
It was a word I’d never heard before, but it sounded cute.
So I waved at the parrot and said:

“Burung imut~” (Cute bird~)

Hearing that, the parrot nearby reacted adorably.
In that moment, even without sharing a language,
I could feel that we were smiling with the same emotion.

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🐕 “Anjing means dog, but it’s different here.”

That friend pointed at the dog and sent a message in chat.

“Itu anjing. Tapi di Indonesia, kami tidak terlalu suka.”
(This is a dog. But in Indonesia, we don’t really like them.)

When I asked, “Why?”
the reasons were simple.

• The perception that they’re aggressive and noisy
• A sense of distance rooted in religious background

It was a culture completely different from Korea,
but the moment I understood that difference,
my heart felt strangely warm.

Different worlds,
different languages,
different emotional wavelengths.

And yet, even there, I felt that with just one small understanding,
a real connection can begin.

---

🌼 “Addiction” makes you abandon yourself, and “connection” helps you live

Virtual spaces become dangerous
when you start liking them so much that you want to abandon reality.

• The harder things are in real life,
• the lonelier you feel,
• the more you crave comfort,

the more intense emotions in VR can feel,
and the safer it can seem compared to reality.

But that isn’t the “real me.”
For you to live your real life better,
VR should be a short place to rest
—only then can a healthy connection form.

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🔄 How to find emotional balance

• Set a limit for how long you’ll log in
• Do your daily routine first, then start the game
• After conversations, jot things down or organize them in writing
• Sometimes, intentionally make days when you don’t log in

I, Seojun, am also building that balance little by little.
Even if it’s hard,
the moment you realize it’s a way to protect yourself,
virtual reality stops being an addiction.

📌 In closing…

VRChat can sometimes feel warmer than reality,
a place where your heart reaches others before words do.
But at the same time, if you sink too deeply into those feelings,
the rhythm of real life can get thrown off.

What matters is “not forgetting yourself.”
Remember why you came here,
and what you hoped to gain.

And like that moment when I laughed with burung imut,
if we respect each other’s cultures
and connect slowly, little by little,
isn’t that the real gift of this space? 🌿

✨ Bonus – A VRChat moment with Quila

Making a hamburger at a cafe (Korean subtitles)

Cooking in virtual reality (Seojun special appearance)