Partnership through Play: Investigating How Long-Distance Couples Use Digital Games to Facilitate Intimacy
2025/05/14 by Nisha Devasia, Adrian Rodriguez, Logan Tuttle +2 · 12 voices · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Child Development and Digital Technology #Impact of Technology on Adolescents #Digital Games and Media
paper · pdf · doi:10.1145/3715336.3735773
Abstract
Long-distance relationships (LDRs) have become more common in the last few decades, primarily among young adults pursuing educational or employment opportunities. A common way for couples in LDRs to spend time together is by playing multiplayer video games, which are often a shared hobby and therefore a preferred joint activity. However, games are relatively understudied in the context of relational maintenance for LDRs. In this work, we used a mixed-methods approach to collect data on the experiences of 13 couples in LDRs who frequently play games together. We investigated different values around various game mechanics and modalities and found significant differences in couple play styles, and also detail how couples appropriate game mechanics to express affection to each other virtually. We also created prototypes and design implications based on couples' needs surrounding the lack of physical sensation and memorabilia storage in most popular games.
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- How long-distance couples use digital games to facilitate intimacy (2025) [hn, 133 points, 38 comments]
- I'll be at #DIS2025 presenting some findings from my first ever project as a PhD student (a labor of love heavily inspired by my own experiences): "Partnership through Play: Investigating How Long-Dis [bsky, 10 points, 1 comments]
- Partnership through play: investigating how long-distance couples use digital games to facilitate intimacy arxiv.org/pdf/2505.09509 [bsky, 1 points, 1 comments]
- How long-distance couples use digital games to facilitate intimacy (2025) https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.09509 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47741460 [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]
- Investigating How Long-Distance Couples Use Digital Games to Facilitate Intimacy https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.09509 [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]
- Investigating How Long-Distance Couples Use Digital Games to Facilitate Intimacy https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.09509 (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47741460) [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]
- https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.09509 遠距離恋愛のカップルが、デジタルゲームで親密さを保つ方法を調べた論文です。 13組の調査で、遊び方や好みはさまざまで、ゲーム内の仕組みを愛情表現に使っていました。 触れ合い不足や思い出の保存に向け、試作と設計指針も示しています。 [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]
- Long-distance relationships can be challenging, but digital games offer a unique way to foster intimacy. Our latest investigation explores how couples use gaming to connect, communicate, and strengthe [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]
- How long-distance couples use digital games to facilitate intimacy (2025) https:// arxiv.org/abs/2505.09509 # arxiv [mastodon, 0 points, 0 comments]
- Investigating How Long-Distance Couples Use Digital Games to Facilitate Intimacy https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.09509 [comments] [70 points] [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]
- Investigating How Long-Distance Couples Use Digital Games to Facilitate Intimacy https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.09509 (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47741460) [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]
- Investigating How Long-Distance Couples Use Digital Games to Facilitate Intimacy [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]
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