A Location-sharing Interface Based on Behavioral Commonality and Information Aggregation to Enhance Group Connectedness

In recent years, social isolation and loneliness have become serious societal issues, increasingly affecting even younger generations. One contributing factor is the fragmentation of communities caused by life events such as relocation or transition to new life stages. To enhance the sense of connectedness among individuals in fragmented communities, we propose an interface design for a location-sharing system that visualizes behavioral commonality and aggregates users’ locations on a small-scale virtual map, aiming to foster awareness of others’ presence and activities. We verified the impact of the two factors in this method on users’ impressions of the provided information from three perspectives: sense of connectedness, sense of unity, and awareness. The results showed that the behavioral commonality was the primary factor contributing to all three aspects. Furthermore, the combination of the behavioral commonality with the aggregation of location information was effective in enhancing a sense of connectedness and unity.