Out of network : technologies to connect with strangers

Abstract

Popular connective technologies are supposed to save us time and simplify our lives, but instead we are more overwhelmed and scattered than ever. These same technologies promised to help keep us close to our friends and loved ones, but instead we are becoming increasingly isolated. This is result of designing technology with the goal of interactions being efficient rather than interactions being meaningful. Predominant connective technologies do not adequately consider how small design choices shape our mental processes and affect our emotions. In this thesis, I investigate how interfaces structure our thoughts and, as a result, behavior, and I examine how this power can be harnessed to improve mental and physical well-being. I focus in particular on how technology can influence perceived feelings of loneliness. Recent research shows that the subjective experience of loneliness, independent of objectively being alone, has astounding health consequences for a significant percentage of the population. I introduce Lakoffs theory the embodied mind, which is the understanding that the majority of thought is unconscious and experienced through the body, and I discuss how it can be used to design better interfaces. I summarize recent research that demonstrates the inextricable link between physical sensations in the body and feelings of loneliness and connection. To explore these ideas, I designed and built two devices: the Empathy Box, a tabletop appliance inspired by Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick; and the Empathy Amulet, a wearable device that fosters an unconscious sense of our connection to strangers. Both devices use shared physical warmth as a way to cultivate empathy and a novel sense of connection with anonymous others. With the understanding that the aesthetic qualities of a technology greatly influence its effectiveness, I conclude that the perspective of an artist, which is focused on combining aesthetics and context to make meaning, has an important role in the development of new technologies that interface with the self or that mediate relationships between people.