Abstract
There is a growing concern that smartphone usage in front of family or friends can be bothersome and even deteriorate relationships. We report on a survey examining smartphone usage behavior and problems that arise from overuse when partners (married couples, common-law relationships) are co-located. Results show that people have various expectations from their partner, and often feel frustrated when their partner uses a smartphone in front of them. Study participants also reported a lack of smartphone activity awareness that could help decide when or how to communicate expectations to the partner. This motivated us to develop an app, CoAware, for sharing smartphone activity-related information between partners. In a lab study with couples, we found that CoAware has the potential to improve smartphone activity awareness among co-located partners. In light of the study results, we suggest design strategies for sharing smartphone activity information among co-located partners.
