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Commensality and the Social Use of Technology during Family Mealtime

Published: 03 December 2016 Publication History

Abstract

This article examines familial interactions, which are mediated through information and communication technologies, during domestic mealtimes. We seek to understand how technologies are used and negotiated among family members and the influence of technology on commensality. We conducted an observational study of six families. The findings showed how technologies are integrated into the mealtime activities. Our study identifies domestic circumstances where background technologies are raised to the foreground, visible devices are hidden, unwanted distractions become desired, and ordinary technologies are integrated into mealtime experiences. We identify four patterns of arrangement between technologies and family members during mealtimes, and we discuss how technologies contribute to mealtime satiety and commensality. Finally, we present implications of our findings and directions for technological advancements focusing on the social and celebratory nature of family mealtimes.

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    cover image ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction
    ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction  Volume 23, Issue 6
    December 2016
    144 pages
    ISSN:1073-0516
    EISSN:1557-7325
    DOI:10.1145/3018660
    Issue’s Table of Contents
    Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

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    Publication History

    Published: 03 December 2016
    Accepted: 01 August 2016
    Revised: 01 July 2016
    Received: 01 July 2015
    Published in TOCHI Volume 23, Issue 6

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    Author Tags

    1. Commensality
    2. communication technologies
    3. eating
    4. family conversation
    5. food
    6. spatial arrangement
    7. tension around technologies in shared space

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    • (2024)"The struggle is a part of the experience": Engaging Discontents in the Design of Family Meal TechnologiesProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36870168:CSCW2(1-33)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
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