The goal of this research project was to address the problem of expressing empathy in written computer-mediated communication (WCMC) in order to help people express feelings in a medium that lacks basic emotional information. In face-to-face communication, facial expression, body language and intonation provide clues about the other’s emotional state. In WCMC we lack these signals.

Studies in the U.S. have shown that seventy-percent of millennials and Generation-Z communicate and manage their interpersonal communication through WCMC. This presents several problems. WCMC is characterized by shortened messages that contain less emotional content. Research in the last two decades has found a decline in empathic concern and perspective taking which has negatively affected deep interpersonal connections. I feel that the worldwide loneliness pandemic is a direct result of the above and my project aims at providing a means of expressing emotional content through WCMC.

I used design research in my quest to increase empathy in WCMC, conducting generative research which consisted of scholarly research, evaluation research and quantitative research with 17 participants who participated in structured interviews disclosing typical communication patterns. The information was analyzed using an affinity diagram to inform key insights. These key insights lead to the development of a wireframe prototype called Text+ which was tested on four users and five professionals. Text+ is an add-on for WCMC apps with four features that add rich layers of emotional dimension to WCMC.