Understanding social presence

Long distance relationships are not well supported by current communication technologies. Although these technologies are superb at communicating facts, they lack an emotional element which we argue is necessary for people who care about one another and yet who must live apart. My PhD aims to address this problem by examining social presence in technologically mediated relationships. Thus far I have built a number of tele-tangible devices to mimic human actions across a distance. I will deploy these systems within a number of long-distance relationships. I expect my research to result in new understanding which will lead to communication technologies with higher levels of social presence, thus supporting long-distance relationships.