Previous research in the social sciences has shown that haptic interaction rituals are critical for maintaining social relationships. However, during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, ‘social distancing’ was encouraged in order to avoid the spread of disease. Drawing on data from self-ethnography as well as publicly available resources, in this study we explore some new, locally negotiated haptic trajectories to accomplish interaction rituals in the time of coronavirus. First, we present self-ethnographic observations of distancing in face-to-face encounters from our everyday lives. Second, utilizing methods of microanalysis of naturally occurring interaction, we investigate video recordings of the embodied negotiation of space and touch among politicians. We analyze three different ways in which politicians negotiate transitional moves in this haptic ritual when one party initiates a handshake: repairing, declining and apologizing. Our analysis shows that politicians adapt their entire bodies in conjunction with talk, gestures and laughter not only to accomplish the greeting but also to remedy the potentially face-threatening situation of not getting the greeting right. This research has implications for better understanding the spontaneous ability of human beings to invent new ways of engaging with each other. Moreover, it adds to our knowledge of how the materiality of human bodies can impact forms of sociality.

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Mobile video calling technologies have become a critical link to connect distributed families. However, these technologies have been principally designed for video calling between two parties, whereas family video calls involve young children often comprise three parties, namely a co-present adult (a parent or grandparent) helping with the interaction between the child and another remote adult. We examine how manipulation of phone cameras and management of co-present children is used to stage parentchild interactions. We present results from a videoethnographic study based on 40 video recordings of video calls between 'left-behind' children and their migrant parents in China. Our analysis reveals a key practice of 'facilitation work', performed by grandparents, as a crucial feature of three-party calls. Facilitation work offers a new concept for HCI's broader conceptualisation of mobile video calling, suggesting revisions that design might take into consideration for triadic interactions in general.

Video-mediated communication (VMC) has become particularly important for geographically dispersed families. Drawing on a 2-year video-based ethnographic study of under-resourced Chinese rural-to-urban migrant parents and their left-behind children, this article captures on-site distant parent–child VMC. Applying qualitative video analysis to study video calls, this article focuses on how people “choreograph” these video calls and investigates the improvised composition of actions and activities in mediated environment. The findings reveal that people coordinate the materiality, amplify the emotionality, and underpin the morality of love to sustain intimate relationships. Multigenerational parties, including parents, children, and grandparents, actively manage their connections through the moment-by-moment unfolding of choreographed actions in VMC. This study also highlights the bittersweet experiences, including the tension, contradictions, and asymmetries, among migrant parents, children, and the caregivers.

Potential romantic partners often employ specific communicative strategies in computer-mediated communication based on their anticipation of future interactions. This conversation analytic study examines the practice of assessments used in WeChat conversations between potential romantic partners. We found that people recurrently mobilize the action of assessment to maintain or terminate their relationships. Especially, people tend to provide more assessments after an initial assessment, which we term ‘continuing assessment’. We show that continuing assessments are sequentially organized in conversational context between co-participants and are essential for relational developments. When potential partners aim to maintain or advance their relationships, continuing assessments are used to prevent a structurally integrated conversation from falling into closure. In contrast, continuing assessments are applied to put an end to the dialogue and to manage face work. Our study furthers the understanding of the communicative strategies of online dating.