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"The struggle is a part of the experience": Engaging Discontents in the Design of Family Meal Technologies

Yuxing Wu, Andrew D Miller, Chia-Fang Chung, Elizabeth Kaziunas

Abstract

Meals are a central (and messy) part of family life. Previous design framings for mealtime technologies have focused on supporting dietary needs or social and celebratory interactions at the dinner table; however, family meals involve the coordination of many activities and complicated family dynamics. In this paper, we report on findings from interviews and design sessions with 18 families from the Midwestern United States (including both partners/parents and children) to uncover important family differences and tensions that arise around domestic meal experiences. Drawing on feminist theory, we unpack the work of feeding a family as a form of care, drawing attention to the social and emotional complexity of family meals. Critically situating our data within current design narratives, we propose the sensitizing concepts of generative and systemic discontents as a productive way towards troubling the design space of family-food interaction to contend with the struggles that are a part of everyday family meal experiences.

"The struggle is a part of the experience": Engaging Discontents in the Design of Family Meal Technologies

Abstract

Meals are a central (and messy) part of family life. Previous design framings for mealtime technologies have focused on supporting dietary needs or social and celebratory interactions at the dinner table; however, family meals involve the coordination of many activities and complicated family dynamics. In this paper, we report on findings from interviews and design sessions with 18 families from the Midwestern United States (including both partners/parents and children) to uncover important family differences and tensions that arise around domestic meal experiences. Drawing on feminist theory, we unpack the work of feeding a family as a form of care, drawing attention to the social and emotional complexity of family meals. Critically situating our data within current design narratives, we propose the sensitizing concepts of generative and systemic discontents as a productive way towards troubling the design space of family-food interaction to contend with the struggles that are a part of everyday family meal experiences.
Paper Structure (37 sections, 3 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 37 sections, 3 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Literature
  3. Technology for family mealtimes
  4. Defining family mealtimes
  5. Celebratory technology
  6. Attitudes towards mealtime technology use
  7. Family conflicts around the use and design of domestic technology
  8. Theoretical Framework
  9. Feeding as Care Work
  10. Feeding and Family Relations
  11. Idealization of the Family Meal
  12. Family Meal Technology Project: Study Design and Methods
  13. Data Collection
  14. Participant Recruitment
  15. Family Demographics
  16. ...and 22 more sections

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Sketches showing ways of using technology to automate and reduce labor around the work of feeding
  • Figure 2: Different design ideas representing ways to support more meaningful (or fun) social interactions around family meals
  • Figure 3: Sketch from parents from Jean Family showing varying levels of comfort for involving tech in family meals and its potential impact on meal traditions