Relatedness Technologies: An Online Compendium and Systematic Review

Research Background and Issues

• Identified Problems or Challenges: Over the past few decades, the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) has seen the emergence of numerous concepts and prototypes aimed at fostering emotional connectedness over long distances. However, these studies are scattered and lack systematic organization and theoretical guidance, making it difficult for researchers and designers to gain a comprehensive understanding and effectively develop new technologies based on existing findings.
• Significance: Interpersonal emotional connectedness is a core need for mental health and well-being, and relatedness technologies help bridge the emotional gaps caused by spatial separation. These technologies have long been considered critical solutions for addressing challenges in long-distance intimate relationships, family connections, and social interactions.
• Research Motivation: Although the field of relatedness technologies has seen some development, a systematic review exploring their design strategies, theoretical foundations, evaluation methods, and ethical considerations to establish a comprehensive and accessible database remains an unfulfilled task. Such a resource is crucial for designers to enhance the practicality of these technologies and for researchers to investigate the long-term effectiveness of this domain.

Solution

• Proposed Solution: The authors utilized the PRISMA methodology to conduct a systematic literature search, collecting 241 relatedness technologies published between 2010 and 2024, and developed an online open-access database called "CORE (COmpendium of RElatedness Technologies)." The database includes key classification dimensions (e.g., target user groups, design strategies, evaluation methods, ethical considerations) for researchers and practitioners to search and learn from.
• Innovations:
  • Developed a searchable and open-access interactive database to serve as a unified knowledge repository for relatedness technologies.
  • Categorized and systematized these technologies, identifying nine design strategies and ten technology roles. Additionally, new strategies such as "ritual formation" and "caring behaviors" were introduced to complement existing frameworks in the field.
  • Provided intuitive charts and data visualization tools to help identify trends in technology distribution and prominent patterns in design strategies.
• Implementation Steps:
  1. Literature Screening and Analysis: Applied the PRISMA systematic review process with screening dimensions including design innovation, evaluation testing, and ethical relevance.
  2. Extracting Classification Information: Established five main classifications (target groups, theoretical foundations, design, evaluation, ethics).
  3. Database Creation: Developed the open-access CORE database, incorporating interactive search functionality and graphical visualization for exploration.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Outcomes:
  • Compiled a comprehensive dataset of relatedness technologies, covering 208 papers and 241 technology concepts and prototypes over a 14-year period.
  • Classified the technologies into nine design strategies (e.g., "expressiveness," "joint activities") and ten technology roles (e.g., "resource-enriching technologies," "enabling technologies"). Proposed new design strategies such as "ritual formation" and "caring behaviors," extending existing theoretical frameworks.
• Advantages of Existing Solutions:
  • The core contribution lies in the structured, easily searchable data platform and the extensible theoretical framework.
  • Compared to previous reviews, it is more comprehensive, covering a broader range of recently published technology prototypes.
  • The database adopts an open-access model, encouraging contributions from community members to further improve and update it.
• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  • The design and evaluation of relatedness technologies exhibit some commonalities. For example, most technologies primarily target families, partners, and friends, with "expressiveness" and "joint activities" being the most prominent design strategies. However, theoretical foundations are weak, with only 27% of the literature referencing psychological theories.
  • Most evaluation methods rely on qualitative research, often with small sample sizes and short study durations (50% of evaluations were single-session tests).
  • Ethical reflections are insufficient, with only 31% of the literature addressing ethical issues, mostly limited to privacy concerns. For instance, many technologies fail to adequately address potential negative effects.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  • The database currently only covers the ACM DL database, lacking data from other publications, which may result in potential omissions.
  • Ethical considerations need to be expanded, particularly regarding the long-term adverse effects of technologies on long-distance relationships.
  • A theory-driven design framework could strengthen designers' deeper consideration of technology roles and ethics.
  • Contributions from community members could enrich the CORE database with additional dimensions, including exploration of non-English publications or commercial applications.

Overall, "CORE" provides researchers with a rich resource on relatedness technologies. This work is expected to serve as a critical foundation for promoting more theory-driven designs, systematic evaluations, and ethical reflections in the field.