Augmenting Couples' Communication with Lifelines: Shared Timelines of Mixed Contextual Information

Carla Griggio (1, 2, 3) , Midas Nouwens (1, 4) , Joanna Mcgrenere (5) , Wendy Mackay (1, 2)

1 EX-SITU - Extreme Interaction
2 LRI - Laboratoire de Recherche en Informatique
3 Université Paris-Saclay
4 Aarhus University [Aarhus]
5 UBC - University of British Columbia

Couples exhibit special communication practices, but apps rarely offer couple-specific functionality. Research shows that sharing streams of contextual information (e.g. location, motion) helps couples coordinate and feel more connected. Most studies explored a single, ephemeral stream; we study how couples' communication changes when sharing multiple, persistent streams. We designed Lifelines, a mobile-app technology probe that visualizes up to six streams on a shared timeline: closeness to home, battery level, steps, media playing, texts, and calls. A month-long study with nine couples showed that partners interpreted information mostly from individual streams, but also combined them for more nuanced interpretations. Persistent streams allowed missing data to become meaningful and provided new ways of understanding each other. Unexpected patterns from any stream can trigger calls and texts, whereas seeing expected data can replace direct communication, which may improve or disrupt established communication practices. We conclude with design implications for mediating awareness within couples.

Mots clés: Couples; Contextual information; CMC; Awareness

Domaines: Interface homme-machine [cs.HC]

Carla Griggio, Midas Nouwens, Joanna Mcgrenere, Wendy Mackay. Augmenting Couples' Communication with Lifelines: Shared Timelines of Mixed Contextual Information. CHI 2019 - The ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May 2019, Glasgow, United Kingdom. ⟨10.1145/3290605.3300853⟩. ⟨hal-02092673⟩