We demonstrate a telepresence robot system that supports multiple users to visit a place together remotely. People create meanings in places through their personal and social experiences in the place. Interacting with places is essential for people to obtain new knowledge, build their social ties, and form personal identities. However, people may not always have access to places they want to go, in particular if they want to visit with other people and share the experience together. Telepresence robots have the promise to address this challenge by reducing the travel cost and easing the coordination effort among multiple visitors. We propose the design of a telepresence robot that allows multiple users to have shared experiences in remote places and enhances the bonding between people and the place.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause a range of cognitive and communication challenges that negatively affect social participation in both face-to-face interactions and computer-mediated communication. In particular, individuals with TBI report barriers that limit access to participation on social media platforms. To improve access to and use of social media for users with TBI, we introduce the Social Media Accessibility and Rehabilitation Toolkit (SMART-TBI). The toolkit includes five aids (Writing Aid, Interpretation Aid, Filter Mode, Focus Mode, and Facebook Customization) designed to address the cognitive and communicative needs of individuals with TBI. We asked eight users with moderate-severe TBI and five TBI rehabilitation experts to evaluate each aid. Our findings revealed potential benefits of aids and areas for improvement, including the need for psychological safety, privacy control, and balancing business and accessibility needs; and overall mixed reactions among the participants to AI-based aids.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause cognitive, communication, and psychological challenges that profoundly limit independence in everyday life. Conversational Agents (CAs) can provide individuals with TBI with cognitive and communication support, although little is known about how they make use of CAs to address injury-related needs. In this study, we gave nine adults with TBI an at-home CA for four weeks to investigate use patterns, challenges, and design requirements, focusing particularly on injury-related use. The findings revealed significant gaps between the current capabilities of CAs and accessibility challenges faced by TBI users. We also identified 14 TBI-related activities that participants engaged in with CAs. We categorized those activities into four groups: mental health, cognitive activities, healthcare and rehabilitation, and routine activities. Design implications focus on accessibility improvements and functional designs of CAs that can better support the day-to-day needs of people with TBI.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result in chronic sensorimotor, cognitive, psychosocial, and communication challenges that can limit social participation. Social media can be a useful outlet for social participation for individuals with TBI, but there are barriers to access. While research has drawn attention to the nature of access barriers, few studies have investigated technological solutions to address these barriers, particularly considering the perspectives of individuals with TBI. To address this gap in knowledge, we used a participatory approach to engage 10 adults with TBI in conceptualizing tools to address their challenges accessing Facebook. Participants described multifaceted challenges in using social media, including interface overload, social comparisons, and anxiety over self-presentation and communication after injury. They discussed their needs and preferences and generated ideas for design solutions. Our work contributes to designing assistive and accessibility technology to facilitate an equal access to the benefits of social media for individuals with TBI.

Much research has investigated the uses and effects of new communication technologies in long-distance romantic relationships. Comparatively, however, the importance of these technologies within geographically close romantic relationships has been overlooked. The present study fills in this gap by examining the prevalence of media use in this context and its association with relational well-being. A survey of heterosexual undergraduates involved in proximal dating relationships (N = 211) shows that they used mobile media (phone calls, texting) to a significant extent to connect with partners on a daily basis, and that they reported high quality of communication when using these media. Further, the quality, but not quantity, of mobile communication was associated with partner idealization which, in turn, was associated with relational satisfaction. The results support and extend the Hyperpersonal model of online communication, and contribute to elucidating user practices and media effects within the critical domain of romantic relationships.

Self-affirmation is the process of bringing to awareness important aspects of the self, such as values, goals, and treasured characteristics. When affirmed, individuals are more open-minded and less defensive. This study examines whether social networking tools, such as Facebook, have self-affirming value. Participants were asked to either spend time on their own Facebook profiles, or on a stranger's profile. Afterwards, they were given negative feedback on a task. Participants who spent time on their own profiles were more accepting of the feedback, and less likely to engage in ego-protective mechanisms, such as derogating the task or the evaluator. In fact, they behaved identically to participants who completed a classic self-affirmation manipulation. The theoretical contributions of this paper include (1) identifying intrapersonal effects of online self-presentation and (2) extending self-affirmation theory to include social media use.

People increasingly rely on social networking websites to initiate personal and professional relationships. This requires that a considerable amount of trust be placed in strangers solely on the basis of their online profiles. This paper examines how the nature of online information affects how trustworthy online daters are perceived. Visual (i.e., photographs) and textual (i.e., "about me" section) information is considered. Results show that textual information elicits the highest ratings of trustworthiness, and that the addition of a photograph decreases daters' perceived trustworthiness. However, the accuracy of trustworthiness impressions is low regardless of the type of information available, because of a truth bias. Results are discussed in terms of (1) hyperpersonal impression formation and the nature of truth bias; and (2) practical implications for building trustworthiness online.

This study investigates whether deception in online dating profiles is detectable through a linguistic approach, which assumes that liars nonconsciously produce different word patterns than truth-tellers. We objectively measure deception in online dating profiles and analyze the linguistic composition of the open-ended component of the profile (i.e., "about me" section) using computerized text analysis. Results show that profile deceptions correlate with fewer self-references, increased negations, fewer negative emotion words and fewer overall words used in the textual self-description. Results are discussed in terms of (1) practical implications for detecting deception in online profiles; and (2) theoretical implications regarding the impact of media affordances (i.e., asynchronicity and editability) on the occurrence of linguistic cues to deception.

With the widespread use of social networking sites, it is easy to acquire a great deal of personal information about someone before meeting them. How do people use this information when initiating relationships? In the present study, participants either had access to an unknown partner's Facebook profile or did not, and were instructed to get their partners to like them in a short instant messaging conversation. Participants used social network and profile information in two ways: probes, asking questions whose answer they already knew, and implicit mentions, referencing information that made them seem more similar to their partner. These strategies successfully increased interpersonal attraction. Participants, however, frequently rated these strategies as deceptive, raising important concerns about the use of asymmetrical personal information for interpersonal gain.

Online dating is a popular new tool for initiating romantic relationships, although recent research and media reports suggest that it may also be fertile ground for deception. Unlike previous studies that rely solely on self-report data, the present study establishes ground truth for 80 online daters' height, weight and age, and compares ground truth data to the information provided in online dating profiles. The results suggest that deception is indeed frequently observed, but that the magnitude of the deceptions is usually small. As expected, deceptions differ by gender. Results are discussed in light of the Hyperpersonal model and the self-presentational tensions experienced by online dating participants.