<![CDATA[This study aims to determine the relationship and the strength of the correlation between Interaction Intensity and Emotional Closeness among IMVU online game users following the Instagram account @imvu.indo. Based on Social Penetration Theory, this quantitative study adopted a positivism paradigm using a survey method. Purposive sampling was applied to select 358 respondents from a population of 3,328 followers of the @imvu.indo Instagram account. Data were collected using a 1–4 Likert scale questionnaire and analyzed using the Pearson Product Moment correlation. The results revealed a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.686 with a significance value of 0.000 (p<0.05), proving a positive, significant, and strong relationship between Interaction Intensity and Emotional Closeness. These findings empirically support Social Penetration Theory, demonstrating that intense, consistent, and continuous digital interactions via 3D avatars effectively foster self-disclosure and generate psychological intimacy as well as real emotional bonds among users. Furthermore, demographic findings dominated by emerging adult females (93.9%) highlight a strong need for a virtual safe space and social intimacy. This study concludes that higher communication intensity in an immersive online game directly leads to stronger emotional closeness among users.]]>
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