Dialogue Agents that Share Family Information to Strengthen Grandparent-Grandchild Relationships

Abstract

Social isolation among older adults has become a critical concern, as reduced opportunities for conversation and weakened family relationships negatively affect mental health. This study proposes a dialogue agent that supports older adults by fostering both a relationship with the agent and a relationship with their grandchild through sharing everyday information. The agent operates on a chatbot platform and engages in daily conversations with older adults and their grandchildren, exchanging information gathered from each party to enhance conversational engagement and social connection. We conducted a ten-day empirical experiment with 52 grandparent-grandchild pairs. The results suggest that older adults became more willing to interact with the proposed agent, which shared information about their grandchildren, and that the psychological connection between grandparents and grandchildren was strengthened. Furthermore, daily interactions with the agent were associated with reduced anxiety in both older adults and their grandchildren. These findings indicate that a dialogue agent that shares personal information can be an effective approach to supporting older adults by simultaneously offering conversational opportunities and promoting family connectedness. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the design of dialogue agents that effectively address social isolation among older adults.