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

William Gaver, Frances Gaver

    Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

    15 Citations (Scopus)
    111 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    We are a mother and son who have been using a pair of simple, selfbuild
    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
    Number of pages14
    DOIs
    Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2 Mar 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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