Beyond Functionality: Olfactory Cues for Affective Accessibility in Collaborative Social XR

As eXtended Reality (XR) platforms increasingly support global collaboration, prevailing accessibility frameworks remain largely anchored in a functional paradigm that emphasizes visual, auditory, and motor substitutions. This focus, however, often overlooks what we term affective accessibility, used here to describe the psychological and emotional ease with which diverse users can enter, remain, and meaningfully engage in shared immersive social spaces. This position paper argues that olfactory cues, given their close association with affective experience, represent a promising yet underexplored channel for supporting emotional inclusion in Social XR. Rather than serving solely as immersive enhancements, integrated scent-scapes may function as subtle modulators of social anxiety, support shared affective conditions, and enable cultural expression within collaborative virtual environments. By examining olfactory cues through the lenses of situational accessibility, psychological safety, and inclusive design, this paper articulates a conceptual shift toward a holistic, multi-sensory approach that foregrounds users' emotional comfort, sense of belonging, and capacity for meaningful participation.