Conversations during a shared meal provide time to bond, connect, and learn from one another. Scientific research shows that family meals foster warmth, security and love, as well as feelings of belonging. Shared family meals also boost children’s confidence and communication skills.
However, we rely too much on technology to communicate with each other today, or frequently multitasking even while we eat. Distractions from cell phones and tablets diminish our enjoyment of each other and our food during our mealtime. We're living an era where capturing moments using our phones or browsing information by tablets is more important than actually living in these moments with whoever is beside us. Communication by cellphone makes people feel that they are being more social, whereas in fact they are only alienating themselves further from society. It is becoming more and more normal for users to sit at the dinner table and constantly check out their text messages, tweets, and their Facebook updates. We’re so busy documenting mealtimes for our memories that we may be missing on truly being present for those experiences.
The main focus of my design is to find a solution to the erosion of dinner time conversation, which, from one aspect, is reflected in my video showing different dinner families arriving and expecting a meal. Instead of food on the table, however, each place setting includes platters upon which were placed mobile devices with pictures of food on the screens. The video then documented an edited conversation about the dinner guests' thoughts on phone distractions. Surprisingly, the guests had consistent reactions towards the table set design, they also realized that technology couldn’t be a surrogate for reality. The table set is carefully designed including ceramics dinnerware and placemats which best incorporate the mobile devices’ figure.
One of the goals of this project is to disseminate its solution, which expectantly be addressed by creating debate and discussion around this issue. I tried interdisciplinary design for this project first-ceramics, interactive installation and performance. Then the interactive pieces especially the video can be extended and exist online where viewers have the access to reach the performances, such as Youtube, Facebook, Vimeo and so forth. Families can even order their own table set from the website which I design, then stage their own performances and share them on it. With viewers’ discussion and extension of the interdisciplinary design, this idea can go viral and influence more and more people who will realize the interference of technology towards their life and what behavior they should adjust later.
1. Table Set
Ceramics table set and placemats design
2. Website Design
3. Test Interview Video
4. Placemats Design
5. Installation in Gallery Space
