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Family memories in the home: contrasting physical and digital mementos

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Abstract

We carried out fieldwork to characterise and compare physical and digital mementos in the home. Physical mementos are highly valued, heterogeneous and support different types of recollection. Contrary to expectations, we found physical mementos are not purely representational, and can involve appropriating common objects and more idiosyncratic forms. In contrast, digital mementos were initially perceived as less valuable, although participants later reconsidered this. Digital mementos were somewhat limited in function and expression, largely involving representational photos and videos, and infrequently accessed. We explain these digital limitations and conclude with design guidelines for digital mementos, including better techniques for accessing and integrating these into everyday life, allowing them to acquire the symbolic associations and lasting value that characterise their physical counterparts.

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Notes

  1. An allotment is arable land rented from the local council.

  2. None of the interviewees possessed a digital photo frame. The three participants who were more positive to the idea of digital memories on constant display had heard of this technology and were somewhat open to the possibility.

  3. iPhotos already organizes pictures by time into ‘events’; it also supports simple sharing on social websites like Flickr and Facebook.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, Regent Court, 211 Portobello Street, Sheffield, S1 4DP, UK

    Daniela Petrelli & Steve Whittaker

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  1. Daniela Petrelli
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  2. Steve Whittaker
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Correspondence to Daniela Petrelli.

Appendix: Digital memento interview schema

Appendix: Digital memento interview schema

Do you have any “special things” that are in digital format? (if the respondent seems perplexed prompt with: email or voice messages, photo, video clips, artifacts they/they-children have made, music. Be sure all the media are covered: text, speech, image, video clips, music, artifacts).

Where is each one kept? (Interviewer—be sure to mention all: home PC, work PC, laptop, PDA, mobile phone, camera, camcorder, iPod, CDROM, cassette, disks) Do you mind showing it to me?

How often do you access it? In which context? (Interviewer—responses could be: while travelling, by chance, to show someone, … —be sure all possibilities have been considered by the respondent).

Have you shared (sent or shown) this with someone? If not, is there anyone in particular you would like to share this “digital memento” with?

What are you going to do with this “digital memento” when you change laptop/phone/PC?

How would you feel about having this digital thing displayed in a room? Which room would you put it in?

If the respondent is not interested in digital memories:

  • why is that so?

  • would a different way of interacting with personal digital memories change this attitude?

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Petrelli, D., Whittaker, S. Family memories in the home: contrasting physical and digital mementos. Pers Ubiquit Comput 14, 153–169 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-009-0279-7

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