Family Rituals and the Potential for Interaction Design

Abstract

Drawing on a field study with eight families in northern England, we explore the traditions and rituals carried out at Christmas, looking at the artefacts and processes that constitute family life at this time of year. Besides individual differences, a common pattern emerges: an extended preparation is carried out by the hosting household over a few weeks to set up the celebration and build expectations; preparation gives way to a short but intense celebration shared with the family or intimate friends; then decorations are stored and there is a return to normal life.The celebration is across generations and everyone takes part. We note examples of new and evolving rituals. Starting from the three identified phases, we discuss the theoretical and technical implications of our findings for the design of more sympathetic technology that holds potential for augmenting family rituals sensitively and possibly creating new ones.

The rhythm of Christmas

“…Other than that, we did not specifically ask about relation to time. Our analysis included exploring elements of ritual (see Petrelli and Light 2014), but here we focus on temporal aspects of our findings and how these relate to media use.…”

“…Christmas, at its optimal, is not "a straightforward celebration of 'the family', but rather the creation of a sacred time that defines and reverses certain everyday rules" (Kuper 1993). It is a remarkable phenomenon, yet there is little work on what this involves as either coordination or celebration within HCI, though Petrelli and Light (2014) recently considered ritual in this space.…”

“…And as social contact with all but the most intimate circle shrinks, so the use of connecting media shrinks too, to the point where almost everyone is a non-user of ICT for a few hours: "Work activities are eschewed, but social media, online gaming and other highly social electronic activities are also being passed up." (Petrelli and Light 2014), reflecting Kuper's 'reversal of usual rules' (1993). The gift of time means being present and attending to each other, and not using devices that take awareness and attention away from the immediate context.…”

Designing for Lifelong Sports Experience

“…In everyday life, we perform many regular practices, apparently established and repetitive yet always in progress, i.e., relatively more framed in comparison to other everyday activities, through which a certain ethics is expressed and experienced (Petrelli & Light, 2014). We call such regular practices everyday rituals.…”

Building a Better World with our Information: The Future of Personal Information Management, Part 3

“…Barriers to adoption include expense, inflexibility, difficulty in managing overall, and especially in managing for and achieving effective security. 90 Petrelli and Light, 2014;Petrelli et al, 2012. 94 A consideration of PIM at home should allow for a diversity of households and domestic situations.…”