Digital Possessions After a Romantic Break Up

Daniel Herron; Wendy Moncur; Elise van den Hoven

doi:10.1145/2971485.2971539

Digital Possessions After a Romantic Break Up

Daniel Herron (Lead / Corresponding author), Wendy Moncur, Elise van den Hoven

Social Digital

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

6 Citations (Scopus)

199 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

With technology becoming more pervasive in everyday life, it is common for individuals to use digital media to support the enactment and maintenance of romantic relationships. Partners in a relationship may create digital possessions frequently. However, after a relationship ends, individuals typically seek to disconnect from their ex-partner. This becomes difficult due to the partners’ interwoven digital presence in the collection of digital possessions. In this paper, we report on a qualitative study exploring individuals’ experiences of relationship break up in a digital context, and discuss their attitudes towards digital possessions from those relationships. Five main themes emerged from our results: digital possessions that sustain relationships, comparing before and after, tainted digital possessions, digital possessions and invasions of privacy, and involved and emotional reminiscing. Opportunities for design were identified in managing attitudes towards digital possessions, disconnecting and reconnecting, and encouraging awareness of digital possessions.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	NordiCHI '16
Subtitle of host publication	Proceedings of the 9th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
Place of Publication	New York
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
Number of pages	11
ISBN (Electronic)	9781450347631
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/2971485.2971539
Publication status	Published - 23 Oct 2016
Event	NordiCHI 2016: Game-Changing Design - Gothenburg, Sweden Duration: 23 Oct 2016 → 27 Oct 2016 http://www.nordichi2016.org/

Conference

Conference	NordiCHI 2016
Country	Sweden
City	Gothenburg
Period	23/10/16 → 27/10/16
Internet address	http://www.nordichi2016.org/

Keywords

Relationship break up
separation
divorce
HCI
life transitions
digital
memory
curation
media
identity

Access to Document

10.1145/2971485.2971539

Author Accepted ManuscriptAccepted author manuscript, 284 KB

Link to publication in Scopus

Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Digital Possessions After a Romantic Break Up'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Research Output

6 Citations
1 Conference contribution

HCI and Sensitive Life Experiences

Herron, D., Andalibi, N., Hainson, O., Moncur, W. & van den Hoven, E., 23 Oct 2016, NordiCHI '16: Proceedings of the 9th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), 3 p. 134

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Open Access

File

5 Citations (Scopus)

155 Downloads (Pure)

Press / Media

How to cut ties with someone online after a break-up IRL

Wendy Moncur

11/03/19

1 item of Media coverage

Press/Media: Research

The heartbreak kid - meet Derry man doing a PhD in failed relationships

Daniel Herron & Wendy Moncur

4/04/18

1 Media contribution

Press/Media: Research

This is why a Dundee student is asking for your digital memories of break-ups

Daniel Herron & Wendy Moncur

26/03/18

1 item of Media coverage

Press/Media: Research

Cite this

Herron, D., Moncur, W., & van den Hoven, E. (2016). Digital Possessions After a Romantic Break Up. In NordiCHI '16: Proceedings of the 9th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction [36] Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/2971485.2971539

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