Agent-based Mediation on Smartphone Usage among Co-located Couples

Smartphone overuse around family and friends has been shown to be increasing over the past years and often leads to limited one-to-one interaction between co-located individuals. Smartphone-based virtual agents have been shown to be effective for behavior intervention and mediation, such as promoting physical activity. Little is known about leveraging smartphone-based agents to play a role in communication and facilitate conversation between co-located individuals. In this paper, we explore strengthening conversations between co-located couples on phone usage by introducing a smartphone-based agent that acts as a conversation facilitator between them. We contrast the results with a text-based alternative. Our findings suggest that virtual agents serve as a valuable social entity mediating support in couples' communication and relationship dynamics. Through this, we suggest design considerations for this context that leverage the unique qualities of virtual agents.