CAREER: Physical Interfaces to Empower Community Connections

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

This project will advance research on information technology supported communications by investigating the role of interface type and interface asymmetry on supporting social connectedness. Social computing technology may hold the promise of increasing interpersonal connectedness, but previous work has found that certain forms of social media may have unintended social isolation effects. Thus, it is important to explicitly investigate, design for, and measure social connectedness as an outcome of social computing systems. This project is investigating social connection in two high-impact contexts: facilitating peer support in recovery from substance use disorders and supporting intergenerational connections to reduce elder isolation and provide one-on-one mentoring for children. The prototypes have the potential to positively contribute to addressing these significant societal challenges. All prototypes developed will be open source, with all software, circuit designs, and fabrication models available for download, and this work will contribute to innovative educational integration activities. The investigation addresses three research challenges in designing and deploying technologies for social connectedness: (1) understanding the relative tradeoffs of social connectedness systems developed as dedicated physical interfaces versus as commodity device software; (2) exploring the effect of interface asymmetry in social connectedness systems and relationships, given that previous work typically assumes that communication partners are using identical interfaces; and, (3) developing a framework for social connectedness research to support replication and meta-analyses. These research challenges are addressed through three research thrusts. The first two thrusts focus on the design and field deployment of social connectedness systems in two high impact community connection contexts, comparing interface effects based on validated social connectedness metrics. The third thrust calls for synthesizing the findings of these deployments and other relevant investigations in collaboration with leading social connectedness researchers to develop a replication framework for future work.