Adorned in Memes: Exploring the Adoption of Social Wearables in Nordic Student Culture

Title of the Paper

Adorned in Memes: Exploring the Adoption of Social Wearables in Nordic Student Culture

Paper Information

• Research Domain: Study of the application and social dynamics of social wearables in Nordic student culture
• Keywords: Social wearables, social practices, adornment, digital expression, co-design, field study, memes, social computing, wearable computing, Nordic student culture

Research Background and Problems

• Identified Issues or Challenges:

  • Despite two decades of wearable device research in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), social wearables have yet to see widespread adoption in daily life.
  • Current research on social wearables primarily focuses on momentary interaction processes, lacking a systematic understanding of how these technologies integrate into daily social practices.

• Significance:

  • Social wearable technology has the potential to enhance face-to-face social interactions, fostering new social connections through amplified self-expression. However, achieving this goal requires an exploration of the driving factors and barriers within social dynamics.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:

  • The study is set against the backdrop of the Nordic student culture's tradition of adorning boiler suits, which involves personalizing sewn patches to express group affiliation and individual identity.
  • Existing research has proposed a "social wearable design framework" encompassing perception, actuator interaction, social needs, and technological acceptability, but has yet to delve into the application of technology in real-world social practices.

Solution

• Proposed Method or Solution:

  • Design "Digi Merkki," an interactive clothing patch that provides students with a digital means of expression.
  • Employ a co-design approach, collaborating with students to design prototypes and testing them through field interventions.

• Innovative Aspects:

  • Introduce "Memetic Expression" as a strong design concept to support identity expression and community building within digital culture.
  • Encourage students to freely modify Digi Merkki, promoting its function as a social lubricant and meaning-making tool.

• Implementation Steps and Technology:

  • Design Phase:
    • Utilize a systematic design framework to identify functional and aesthetic requirements for Digi Merkki, including visual expressiveness, water resistance, and scalability for social interaction.
    • Develop multiple prototype versions and optimize the design through rapid prototyping tests.
  • Technical Implementation:
    • Build the device using an ESP32 chip to support WiFi connectivity and mesh networking.
    • The device includes touch-sensitive stitching, a screen, LED lights, and a battery, enabling image sharing and interactive animations between users.
  • Field Intervention:
    • Distribute DIY creation kits to 20 students and organize collaborative workshops for personalized customization of Digi Merkki.
    • Use diary studies to document students' usage in real social scenarios.
    • Supplement subjective experience data through follow-up interviews and device log analysis.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Results:

  • Digi Merkki successfully shaped students' social practices in the short term. Participants used the device to showcase individuality, leverage the digital collection mechanism of other patches, and trigger new forms of social interaction (e.g., virtual "handshakes").
  • Digi Merkki facilitated the emergence of novel social behaviors, such as challenge games and prank-like "message hijacking."

• Advantages:

  • Digital patches enhanced the flexibility of expression and interaction, fostering a range of new practices through open design.
  • Memes, as a tool for dissemination, helped students express identity and build communities through digital content.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • Analysis of students' personalized image choices revealed the significant role of memes in non-verbal expression.
  • Field observations demonstrated that the device promoted interaction during closed-group activities and generated new social behavior norms.

• Limitations and Future Research Directions:

  • Current hardware limitations (e.g., screen resolution, water resistance) affect wearability.
  • The study's findings were constrained by pandemic-related restrictions, with data primarily derived from institutionalized activities. Further research is needed to examine long-term practices across broader contexts.
  • The novelty of Digi Merkki is a key factor in its appeal; future studies should explore how to sustain engagement and usage value over time.

Conclusion and Design Principles

• Design Strong Concept: Memetic Expression:

  • Principle 1: Provide tools for participation to support content modification (e.g., personalization and remixing).
  • Principle 2: Designs should align with meme characteristics, including simplicity, humor, puzzle or challenge elements, repeatability, and DIY aesthetics.
  • Other Applications:
    • Image macro generators, short video platforms, etc., exemplify how Memetic Expression supports community, interaction, and identity development.
    • Memes offer broad inspiration for the design of social technologies.

• Future Research Directions:

  • Explore the long-term application of social wearables across diverse cultural contexts.
  • Optimize technology design to ensure seamless integration into daily life.