Designing Parents-Adolescents Relationship in Future Mobility in China

Following the rapid growth of private vehicles in China, in-car parents-adolescents communication has become a prominent issue in recent years. Due to the physical also mental challenges of the adolescent period, the existing in-car environment has demonstrated evidenced limitations to support parents-adolescents communications during car rides. Existing solutions are mostly games and virtual agents designed for young children, which focus on entertainment. However, no related study was found in the Chinese context. Thus, how to design novel experiences supporting in-car communications between parents with adolescents in China is still one of the main challenges in the field. Building upon a fundamental understanding of the current parents-adolescents communication situation in China, this study aims to explore how the vehicle’s interior space could help promote positive interactions and improve communication challenges. We conducted the survey studies in semi-structured interviews and a cultural probing study with five Chinese families, as well as a storytelling workshop with college students. Based on the discussion of design implications learned from user research and concept development, the design proposal in this study intends to support both parents and adolescents to be able to express positive and empathetic intentions through embedded in-car interactivity and suggest future research directions.