PuppetChat: Fostering Intimate Communication through Bidirectional Actions and Micronarratives
This addresses the problem of fostering intimate communication for close partners or friends, but it is incremental as it builds on existing messaging concepts with specific enhancements.
The authors tackled the problem of modern instant messaging tools diluting care in intimate relationships by developing PuppetChat, a dyadic messaging prototype that uses a reciprocity-aware recommender and personalized micronarratives. In a 10-day field study with 11 dyads, the approach enhanced social presence, supported more expressive self-disclosure, and sustained continuity and shared memories.
As a primary channel for sustaining modern intimate relationships, instant messaging facilitates frequent connection across distances. However, today's tools often dilute care; they favor single tap reactions and vague emojis that do not support two way action responses, do not preserve the feeling that the exchange keeps going without breaking, and are weakly tied to who we are and what we share. To address this challenge, we present PuppetChat, a dyadic messaging prototype that restores this expressive depth through embodied interaction. PuppetChat uses a reciprocity aware recommender to encourage responsive actions and generates personalized micronarratives from user stories to ground interactions in personal history. Our 10-day field study with 11 dyads of close partners or friends revealed that this approach enhanced social presence, supported more expressive self disclosure, and sustained continuity and shared memories.