Designing Social Interaction Support System with Shyness in Mind

Abstract

Shyness have been noted as a problem of the minority, which should be overcome on one's own. However, surveys have shown that nearly half of the society are introverts even in cultures believed to be extroversive. We can see the possibility of more contribution from the introverts if the social space is properly designed. As an initial exploration to this design space, we report here a field study where we held a conference banquet with a seating arrangement system developed with introversive participants in mind.