Video Kids: Augmenting Close Friendships with Asynchronous Video Conversations in VideoPal

Consumer-based synchronous video communication is on the rise and is viewed as a valuable medium to support long distance relationships. We were interested in the potential of asynchronous video to augment children‟s close friendships and what types of activities they would engage in using video. We explored both of these concepts through a 9-week field study with a group of six 9-10 year old girls. We see children as potential media trendsetters when it comes to video communication given their comfort with video and desire for rich social interactions. The results from this study were striking. Despite having frequent face-to-face interactions, the girls used our asynchronous video communication tool extensively to augment their existing relationships. Not only were they able to have rich conversations using asynchronous video, they also demonstrated a strong desire to share more than just a “talking head”. The results from this work point to the need for video mediated communication to move beyond conversations, to the sharing of rich experiences.