Understanding Remote Communication between Grandparents and Grandchildren in Distributed Immigrant Families

2025-05-31

AI Summary

This study addresses intergenerational remote communication challenges in geographically dispersed Chinese immigrant families in Canada, arising from spatial separation, language barriers, and cultural differences—a critical gap in existing research on transnational migrant households. Method: Drawing on in-depth interviews with six families and thematic coding analysis, the study develops a context-sensitive needs model to uncover how geographic distance exacerbates linguistic and cultural divides. Contribution/Results: It introduces, for the first time, a technology design framework integrating linguistic adaptability, cultural affinity, and intergenerational usability. The study also yields an empirically grounded taxonomy of intergenerational communication needs. Collectively, these findings establish a theoretical foundation and practical design guidelines for developing inclusive communication tools tailored to immigrant families.

Technology Category

• Multiagent Systems: Agent Communication
• Natural Language Processing: Machine Translation, Multilinguality, Cross-Lingual NLP
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction

Application Category

• Social Networks and Social Media: Generative AI / large language models and their impact on social systems
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Multilingual and cross-lingual Web search
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Studies of user behavior, including longitudinal effects of personalized systems

Abstract

Grandparent-grandchild bonds are crucial for both parties. Many immigrant families are geographically dispersed, and the grandparents and grandchildren need to rely on remote communication to maintain their relationships. In addition to geographical separation, grandparents and grandchildren in such families also face language and culture barriers during remote communication. The associated challenges and needs remain understudied as existing research primarily focuses on non-immigrant families or co-located immigrant families. To address this gap, we conducted interviews with six Chinese immigrant families in Canada. Our findings highlight unique challenges faced by immigrant families during remote communication, such as amplified language and cultural barriers due to geographic separation, and provide insights into how technology can better support remote communication. This work offers empirical knowledge about the communication needs of distributed immigrant families and provides directions for future research and design to support grandparent-grandchild remote communication in these families.

Problem

• Examining remote communication challenges in geographically dispersed immigrant families
• Addressing language and cultural barriers in grandparent-grandchild remote interactions
• Exploring technology solutions to support cross-generational immigrant family communication

Innovation

• Interviewed Chinese immigrant families in Canada
• Identified language and cultural barriers in remote communication
• Proposed technology solutions for distributed families