3D Zoom to increase commensality
I want to challenge the traditional image of the family dinner.
At this instance there is little quantitative data as rates of family commensality was never a part of the census, without historical data one cannot say for sure that family commensality is on the decline. However, the social and cultural landscape have been thoroughly changed by the advancement and development of novel technologies, especially in the last decade, that factors in which family commensality depended, have been irrevocably changed. These factors include, the trend toward single-person households and miro-living, the sustainability of "astronaut families" in migration and the many changes to the labour market.
Starting with the labour market.
The structure of Nine to Five jobs have been declining since the deregulation, or individualisation of the labour market. This gave way to Zero hour contacts, greater employer flexibility to affect wages and conditions in accord with specific product markets and local conditions, decentralised decision-making, the decline of unions, increased job insecurity and job flexibility. While job flexibility sounds ideal, not everyone benefits from a flexible workforce. For instance “by 2008, 25% of all Australian workers were required to be on-call or standby, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors” and “Over one third of all Australian employees worked some or all of their hours at night”. Such working conditions infringes on “timescapes” of daily living, such as family commensality. It should also be noted that good nutrition relies as much on income as it does on time availability. In addition, eating for pleasure and eating in company is associated with consuming less calories. (Dixon et al., 2014)
Micro-living and the trend toward smaller households
Between 1996 and 2006, Auckland experienced a 375% increase in the number of people moving into apartments, while Wellington experienced a 276% increase, since then those numbers have continued to rise. (Richmond, 2012). New Zealand is relatively new to apartment living compared to countries such as China and Japan who, out of necessity are more learned in space maximising strategies. Family commensality is more inconvenient in mirco-apartments that are badly designed.
Smaller household are on the rise. In New Zealand, single-person households increased from 297,000 in 1996 to 439,000 in 2018. In general, people are staying in school for longer, having children later and having fewer children than before. Two-thirds of British households have no children. (Yates & Warde, 2017). Since family members are one's most likely eating companions, the decline in family commensality is also due to having less family.
Astronaut families are sustained by modern technology
This is a good example of how a family can be geographically apart for long periods of time in an increasingly more connected world. It is uncommon for one member of a household to migrate to another country ahead of the rest of their family. It is usually one or both parent who does this; they come to their new country to set up to allow for a smoother transition for the rest of their family. In the process they create what is called "astronut families". Families may be separated for years as the head or heads of the family attempt to become financially secure, however the rest of the family almost always follow as astronaut families cannot be sustained indefinitely. However, due to the development of new technologies which created a more connected world, astronaut families may remain separated; the family may even disperse to more than one country as different members strive to take advantage of various economic, social or environmental advantages in the country of their choice. Connect by social media but geographically apart.
The many consequence of eating alone...
1. For teenagers, eating alone is associated with low fruit and vegetable uptake and high soft-drink intake. (Takeda & Melby, 2017)
2. For the older population, there are practical difficulties in shopping and cooking for one. For older men especially, less time is spent preparing meals and less fruits and vegetables are consumed. Eating alone is also associated with depressive symptoms, feelings of loneliness and concerns about aging. (Takeda & Melby, 2017; Yates & Warde, 2017)
3. While 74% of teenagers report they enjoy family commensality, 53% do not eat with their family as much as they would like. (Cason, 2006). Commensality is rooted in human evolution. It is central to the production of kinship and for maintaining cohesion amongst family members and other social groups. (Yates & Warde, 2017)
4. Commensality is a buffer against psychosocial dysfunction. Psychosocial dysfunction may include, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, disordered food behaviour, low self-esteem and low motivation. These issues in mental health are especially prevalent in adolescence. For adults, commensality is still a protective barrier against daily stressors and negative emotions. (Harrison et al., 2015)
5. Commensality can take on different meaning in different cultures. For instance, in Britain, the decrease in family commensality is a cause for moral panic on the breakdown of the traditional family. In France, it is more a question of the elimination of opportunities for social interaction and the affirmation of a national culture which places high value on food. The decline of commensality changes the socio-cultural landscape of a nation, as well as being shaped by it. (Yates & Warde, 2017)
6. In Japan, decreased family commensality is a cause for cultural confusion and dissatisfaction. This is due to dissonance between family commensality as a cultural ideal and eating alone as the everyday reality of most Japanese people. Since 2011, Japan has promoted family commensality through national campaigns called Shokuiku, meaning food and nutrition education. At the same time, Japanese food businesses are increasingly catering to female full-time workers. The campaign is built on post-wat ideals of the nuclear family, which includes traditional gender labour roles with the women at home. (Takeda & Melby, 2017)
7. Overall, the decrease in family commensality is harmful to one’s mental well-being, no matter what life stage they are at. It is also linked to the overall health of a population, with countries that endorse in an individualised eating paradigm having worse health effects that countries that promote collectivist eating or sees eating as the responsibility of the state as well as the individual. (Dixon et al., 2014)
What about 2D Zoom?
2D video calling has allowed families to stay connected, yet it is less effective at creating positive feelings in users; “Our minds are together when our bodies feel we’re not. That dissonance, which causes people to have conflicting feelings, is exhausting.” (The Reason Zoom Calls Drain Your Energy - BBC Worklife, n.d.). Additionally, when we are on video call, we work harder to process non-verbal cues, such as body language, facial features and tone and pitch of voice. This consumes a lot of energy; this state of being has become so widespread during current times that a new term, “Zoom Fatigue” was invented. Contributing to “Zoom Fatigue” is increased levels of anxiety. “Silence creates a natural rhythm in a real-life conversation.” (The Reason Zoom Calls Drain Your Energy - BBC Worklife, n.d.). However, when there is transmission delay in a video call, rather than attributing this to technical quality, users misattribute this to the personality or the mood of the person on the other end, believing them to be “less attentive, friendly or active.”.
3D Zoom Challenge
The product I propose is called ZoomCloth. It is, in essence, a table cloth with sensors embedded into the cloth. It is connected to the Zoom app. The user is able to choose between normal Zoom and Zoomcloth. If they choose Zoomcloth, data of their companion's movements, appearance and speech will be transmitted to the cloth and converted into light, which will then be projected around the table as a hologram of the person on the other end. This will be the new image of family commensality.