Connecting Couples in Long-Distance Relationships : Towards Unconventional Computer-Mediated Emotional Communication Systems

The number of couples who find themselves in a long-distance relationship (LDR) is increasing for a wide range of reasons, such as overseas employment, academic pursuits, military duty, and similar circumstances. With the myriad of communication channels enabled by the low cost and ubiquity of computer-mediated communication technologies, couples in LDRs are able to stay in touch with each other around the globe. However, recent studies have revealed that the mainstream communication tools are inadequate to support the full spectrum of communication needed in intimate relationships. Emotional communication is one of the fundamental needs in close relationships, as it forms an important part of intimacy. This dissertation argues that there is a gap between what is known about LDR couples’ needs in research and what has been implemented for them in practice. The aim of this work is to bridge this gap by mediating emotional communication through unconventional user interfaces that use interaction solutions outside of the scope of their conventional use, with a particular focus on couples who sustain a committed LDR. Here, taking research through design as a core approach, a variety of qualitative methods were employed to seek answers to the research questions. This dissertation includes eight case studies, each of which is dedicated to answering its corresponding research question(s). Study I presents a systematic literature review which explored the current state of the art and identified the design opportunities. Study II introduces a series of co-design activities with five couples in LDRs to reveal the needs and challenges of users in an LDR. Studies III and IV propose two functional prototypes for unconventional communication systems to connect couples in LDRs. Study V showcases 12 design concepts of wearables created by the participants to support their own LDR. Study VI describes how four low-resolution prototypes created for mediating LDRs by the participants in the workshop would be used in real-world contexts. Studies VII and VIII each present a novel design tool to be used as a scaffold when designing communication systems for supporting LDRs: specifically, a conceptual design framework and a card-based design toolkit. This dissertation contributes new knowledge to the field of human-computer interaction through design interventions. It showcases a spectrum of practices which can be seen as a first step towards mediating emotional communication for couples in LDRs using unconventional communication systems. The findings comprise theoretical and empirical insights—derived from the eight case studies in which the author identified design opportunities and design considerations—relating to how couples in LDRs can be better supported by unconventional computer-mediated emotional communication systems

Text Me You Love Me. Mediated Communication in Dating Relationships

The purpose of this study was to examine how text message communication creates a feeling of social presence, and how it affects self-disclosure, intimacy, and uncertainty. A total of 171 participants were surveyed who at the time were engaged in a dating relationship and used text messages. The findings indicated that a feeling of social presence can be achieved through text message communication. The results indicated a significant positive relationship between the amount of text messages sent to a dating partner and the feeling of social presence. Specifically, a relationship was found between the amount of text messages sent daily from a dating partner and received daily from a dating partner and relational uncertainty. The analysis revealed a negative relationship between the amount of text messages sent to a dating partner and relational uncertainty. Furthermore, this study suggested there is a positive relationship between relationship stage and self-disclosure through text messages, but there isn\u27t one between the length of a relationship and self disclosure via text messages. Lastly, it was found that the amount of text messages sent to a dating partner and received from one\u27s dating partner facilitate intimac

Text Me You Love Me. Mediated Communication in Dating Relationships

The purpose of this study was to examine how text message communication creates a feeling of social presence, and how it affects self-disclosure, intimacy, and uncertainty. A total of 171 participants were surveyed who at the time were engaged in a dating relationship and used text messages. The findings indicated that a feeling of social presence can be achieved through text message communication. The results indicated a significant positive relationship between the amount of text messages sent to a dating partner and the feeling of social presence. Specifically, a relationship was found between the amount of text messages sent daily from a dating partner and received daily from a dating partner and relational uncertainty. The analysis revealed a negative relationship between the amount of text messages sent to a dating partner and relational uncertainty. Furthermore, this study suggested there is a positive relationship between relationship stage and self-disclosure through text messages, but there isn\u27t one between the length of a relationship and self disclosure via text messages. Lastly, it was found that the amount of text messages sent to a dating partner and received from one\u27s dating partner facilitate intimac

“It’s More Like a Letter”: An Exploration of Mediated Conversational Effort in Message Builder

Communication technologies for maintaining close personal relationships are often designed to be lightweight and easy to use. While these properties allow for relationships to be maintained with speed and efficiency, they may come at the expense of more effortful messages that are constructed with thought, time and care. This raises the question of how communication technologies might be designed to provoke moments of effortful maintenance from their users. To explore this question, we designed and implemented Message Builder, a text-based communication system that encourages relational partners to send increasingly long messages. We report findings from a field trial in which 14 dyads used Message Builder for everyday relational maintenance. While some of the effort-provoking features of Message Builder were described as problematic, we found that the system had value in guiding users towards authentic and meaningful effort investments that were valuable within their individual relationships

Towards understanding mobile messaging ecologies : an exploration of the meanings young people attach to instant messaging channels

Mobile communications have added an ever present layer to our personal communication through which social dynamics can be reconstructed. In youth culture specifically, instant messaging allows young people to achieve limited autonomy, explore peer groups and an evolving sense of self. This dissertation explores a model for understanding how instant messaging facilitates this. Theories of media ecologies provide useful ways of explaining media environments. Nonetheless ecologies are usually conceptualised in relation to mass media rather than networked media and tend to assume that ecologies are situated in a particular physical space. The theory is nonetheless useful in understanding the everyday experience of young people using media. By extending media ecology theory to account for the personal communicative ecologies of instant messaging, this study extends the notion of ecology to account for a sense of digital social space outside the constructs of physical space. Through taking an interactional epistemological stance, qualitative research was conducted. Two focus groups were conducted to explore how instant messaging channels meet the needs of a group of young people from middle class contexts in Cape Town. The resultant discussions are applied to the framework of a 'layered' communicative ecology, taking technology, social and discursive layers into account and establishing the centrality of social space within a new and expanded model of networked messaging ecologies. The central aim of this research is to explore how relevant the application of media ecologies would be to an exploration of digital spaces of communication and practice

"Oops...": Mobile Message Deletion in Conversation Error and Regret Remediation

Message deletion in mobile messaging apps allows people to “unsay” things they have said. This paper explores how and why people use (or do not use) this feature within remediation strategies after a communication error is identified. We present findings from a multi-stage survey designed to explore people’s general experiences of the message deletion feature (N = 401), peoples’ experiences of using this feature during the remediation of an error (N = 70), and receivers’ perceptions around recent message deletions (N = 68). While people are typically aware of the deletion feature, it is infrequently used. When used, it is primarily done so to improve conversations by reducing confusion between conversation partners. We found people being aware of message deletions creating information-gaps which can provoke curiosity in recipients, causing them to develop narratives to help address the uncertainty. We found concerns amongst senders that these narratives would be of a negative nature, having an undesirable impact on how others perceive them. We use our findings to suggest ways in which mobile messaging apps could improve conversational experiences around erroneous and regrettable messages

Improving Neurodiverse Relationships: Comparing Relational Quality and Maintenance Channels in Individuals with and Without ADHD

Individuals with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) process information differently than neurotypical individuals and, consequently, experience behavioral, cognitive, and mood-related problems that are associated with low relational quality and insecure attachment orientations. This dissertation draws on minority stress theory (MST) and channel expansion theory (CET) to understand whether adults with ADHD use specific maintenance strategies and communication technologies to improve their relationships. Specifically, this dissertation advances theories surrounding relational maintenance and relational development by comparing how individuals with and without ADHD use different channels to maintain their relationships and how this influences relational quality over time. Individuals with (n = 59) and without (n = 90) ADHD completed longitudinal surveys about their perceptions of channels, richness, and maintenance in face-to-face and texting contexts. Similar to prior research, the findings demonstrate that individuals with ADHD often experience lower relational quality, but the findings also indicate that when individuals with ADHD have low relational quality, they use F2F communication less, perceive it as less rich, and use fewer maintenance strategies. This implies that if individuals with ADHD used F2F communication more, they might be more satisfied with their relationships. The findings also provide evidence that MST and CET are complimentary in that more than one channel for relational maintenance helps improve the relationships of individuals with ADHD. In addition to offering practical implications for individuals navigating neurodiverse relationships, this dissertation contributes to research in communication and related fields (e.g., family studies and psychology) by offering new theoretical implications for extending CET to F2F contexts

Media Ecologies

In this chapter, we frame the media ecologies that contextualize the youth practices we describe in later chapters. By drawing from case studies that are delimited by locality, institutions, networked sites, and interest groups (see appendices), we have been able to map the contours of the varied social, technical, and cultural contexts that structure youth media engagement. This chapter introduces three genres of participation with new media that have emerged as overarching descriptive frameworks for understanding how youth new media practices are defi ned in relation and in opposition to one another. The genres of participation—hanging out, messing around, and geeking out—refl ect and are intertwined with young people’s practices, learning, and identity formation within these varied and dynamic media ecologies