Living with Light Touch: An Autoethnography of a Simple Communication Device in Long-Term Use

William Gaver, Frances Gaver

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

    20 Citations (Scopus)
    139 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    We are a mother and son who have been using a pair of simple, self-build communication devices to maintain a feeling of connection while separated by over 5,000 miles. The devices, called Light Touch, only allow us to send one another slowly-fading, coloured lights, yet we have been surprised by how much our ongoing interaction with them means to us. This paper contributes an autoethnographical account of our experiences over the last two years, including our initial experiences with the devices, and focusing on various aspects of our day-to-day use. Based on our observations, we discuss the features that have proven important in mediating our feelings of connection. We point out, however, that their success is contingent on our context of use and the nature of our bond, and suggest that simple systems like Light Touch may support emotional communication, but only if they are well-matched to settings and relationships.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationCHI '23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
    EditorsAlbrecht Schmidt, Kaisa Väänänen, Tesh Goyal, Per Ola Kristensson, Anicia Peters, Stefanie Mueller, Julie R. Williamson, Max L. Wilson
    Place of PublicationNew York, US
    PublisherACM
    Pages1-14
    Number of pages14
    ISBN (Electronic)9781450394215
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 19 Apr 2023
    EventACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2023 (CHI23) - Congress Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
    Duration: 23 Apr 202328 Apr 2023
    https://chi2023.acm.org/

    Conference

    ConferenceACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2023 (CHI23)
    Abbreviated titleCHI23
    Country/TerritoryGermany
    CityHamburg
    Period23/04/2328/04/23
    Internet address

    Keywords

    • Research through design
    • Autoethnography
    • Autobiographical design
    • Emotional communication
    • Self-build
    • Open source
    • IoT

    Research Group keywords

    • Interaction Research Studio

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