2025-07-142025-07-14http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11861/11223This research project addresses the growing elderly population and the need to improve their well-being and quality of life. With the global and Hong Kong elderly populations projected to increase, there is concern regarding healthcare capacity and retirement policies. Living in cramped environments can lead to negative effects on the elderly, such as loneliness and social isolation. Technology, particularly social virtual reality (social-VR) applications, has shown promise in improving the social well-being of the elderly. However, there is a lack of research specifically focused on the interactions of the elderly with social-VR platforms. This project aims to develop theories and principles for designing elderly–computer interaction (ECI) in social-VR applications. It focuses on exploring the development of ECI practices and addressing local ageing issues. The research design involves a semiotic-driven approach and analysis of existing human–computer interaction (HCI) in social-VR applications, followed by a post-experiment user inquiry. The findings from these phases will be used to develop principles for designing ECI.<br> The research questions include examining the effectiveness of elderly-specific interaction design in social-VR applications, identifying key principles for designing interfaces tailored to the elderly, and evaluating the applicability of traditional HCI theories and approaches to elderly users and interactions in the social-VR environment. Overall, this research project seeks to improve the well-being of the elderly through the development of ECI in social-VR applications, addressing the unique needs and challenges faced by this population.