Designing and Evaluating PocketBot for Long-Distance Relationships (LDRs)
A two-phase research project that explored the design and evaluation of PocketBot, a chatbot aimed at fostering emotional communication and resolving challenges faced by long-distance couples. [Link to Full Paper] [PDF]
Understanding the Problem:
The Need for Couple Technologies
Long-distance relationships (LDRs) are often strained by challenges such as miscommunication, time zone differences, and reduced emotional intimacy. Existing technologies—video calls, messaging apps, or specialized “couple apps”—address functional communication but fail to support the deeper emotional connections crucial for romantic relationships. This gap inspired PocketBot, a chatbot designed to mediate and enhance communication through features tailored to the unique needs of LDR couples.
The research posed two key questions:
What chatbot features are desirable by LDR couples for addressing their current challenges?
How do LDR couples use/perceive the proposed chatbot features to improve their relational practices?
By exploring these questions, the project not only sought to create a functional tool but also aimed to contribute to the broader field of conversational technologies in intimate relationships.
Research Approach
The project spanned two phases—design and prototyping followed by real-world evaluation. Each phase involved rigorous qualitative research and iterative design improvements to ensure the final solution met user needs.
Phase I: Design and Prototyping
This phase focused on understanding user needs and creating a chatbot prototype.
Need-Finding Interviews: Through interviews with six LDR participants, we identified six conversation types central to maintaining healthy relationships: affection, humor, deep talk, conflict resolution, informal communication, and task coordination. However, participants noted existing tools adequately handled informal talk and task coordination, allowing us to prioritize four key features:
Conflict Mediation (Knock-on-the-door): A feature to signal when it’s time to re-engage after a disagreement.
Deep Talk: Prompts for meaningful conversations to foster mutual understanding.
Humor: Lighthearted content to reduce tension and create a playful atmosphere.
Affection: Automated messages to help express feelings and validate emotional closeness.
Prototype Testing
Participants tested a low-fidelity chatbot integrated into Telegram. Feedback highlighted the importance of clear instructions and culturally sensitive humor. Iterative refinements led to a more robust design that balanced usability with meaningful interaction.
Phase II: Field Trial and Evaluation
The refined PocketBot was evaluated with 18 participants (nine couples) over a week (requiring at least three days of participation). Couples were asked to use the bot daily, exploring its features in their real-life interactions. A mix of chat log analysis and exit interviews allowed us to assess PocketBot’s impact.
What We Observed
Couples used PocketBot differently based on their relationship dynamics. For example, newer couples gravitated toward the Deep Talk feature to learn more about each other, while more experienced couples valued the Knock-on-the-Door tool for resolving conflicts.
Chat logs showed that humor and deep talk were the most-used features, reflecting their universal appeal across all participants.
Key Features and User Feedback
Conflict Mediation: PocketBot’s “knock-on-the-door” feature helped participants navigate conflicts by signaling when both partners were ready to talk. As one participant described, “If PocketBot asks if your partner wants to talk right now, they can choose yes or no... It’s like a knock-on-the-door.” However, some participants noted that while helpful for newer relationships, long-term couples or those skilled at resolving conflicts might not find it as useful.
Humor: Humor was widely appreciated for its ability to diffuse tension and make conversations more engaging. However, linguistic and cultural differences occasionally caused misunderstandings. One participant explained, “English is not my native language...so maybe that’s why I didn’t understand some of the jokes. It’s probably because of cultural differences.”
Deep Talk: This feature prompted couples to explore meaningful topics they might not broach otherwise, unveiling new insights even in long-term relationships. A participant remarked, “There was a question that said what physical and emotional gestures do you appreciate, and my girlfriend mentioned that physical touch is her love language. It’s funny that I never thought to ask what her love language is before using [this feature].”
Affection: PocketBot provided an accessible way for shy or busy users to express love and appreciation, fostering emotional closeness. One participant shared, “I really liked the affection command...because it added emotional flavor to our conversation. When I felt like we were losing topics to talk about, it helped.”
Why These Methods Worked
The research combined qualitative interviews, iterative prototyping, and field trials to align PocketBot with the nuanced needs of LDR couples:
Need-Finding Interviews provided rich insights into relational dynamics and challenges, ensuring our features addressed real pain points.
Iterative Design allowed us to test assumptions early and refine features based on user feedback.
Field Trials validated the feasibility and impact of PocketBot in real-world scenarios, demonstrating its ability to foster emotional connection.
Outcomes and Insights
Value Delivered
PocketBot demonstrated the potential of chatbots to enhance emotional communication, providing practical tools for conflict resolution, meaningful dialogue, and humor. Couples felt their interactions were more structured and emotionally rich, fostering a sense of closeness despite the distance.
Challenges Identified
Some features, like humor, needed further cultural customization. Privacy concerns were also raised, with users suggesting a “privacy mode” to restrict the bot’s access during certain conversations.
Broader Implications
The findings highlight a promising direction for conversational agents in intimate relationships, offering design principles for future technologies:
Ensure personalization and cultural sensitivity.
Balance automation with privacy.
Focus on fostering emotional expression and mutual understanding.
Reflections and Future Work
This project provided a practical demonstration of how technology can mediate intimate relationships, offering tools that cater to emotional nuances rather than just functional needs. As lead researcher, I contributed to uncovering deep insights through rigorous qualitative analysis and shaped a product that was both meaningful and usable. Future work could explore additional features, such as shared goal-setting or interactive games, and refine the bot for diverse cultural contexts.
PocketBot is a testament to how human-centered design can bridge emotional gaps, creating deeper, more meaningful connections even across great distances.