Can Virtual Conferences Promote Social Connection?

Across disciplines, people attend conferences in part to build connections with new ties and to reinforce connections with existing ties--but conference travel comes at a high cost in terms of time, money, and carbon. The COVID-19 pandemic forced major conferences, including TED’s annual flagship conference, to move online. Thus, TED2020 offered an opportunity to examine whether attending a virtual conference can promote feelings of social connection. Our findings provide the first evidence that actively participating in a virtual conference may be linked to enhanced feelings of social connection, particularly with new ties. Over the course of the conference, TED attendees exhibited rising levels of connection to new ties, whereas feelings of connection to existing ties remained unchanged. These findings provide suggestive evidence that virtual conferences may be more effective in building connections with new social ties than in strengthening connections with existing social ties. Our findings also point to the types of conference activities that may be especially beneficial for promoting the development of new social ties.