Sharing Frissons among Online Video Viewers: Exploring the Design of Affective Communication for Aesthetic Chills

On online video platforms, viewers often lack a channel to sense others’ and express their affective state on the fly compared to co-located group-viewing. This study explored the design of complementary affective communication specifically for effortless, spontaneous sharing of frissons during video watching. Also known as aesthetic chills, frissons are instant psycho-physiological reactions like goosebumps and shivers to arousing stimuli. We proposed an approach that unobtrusively detects viewers’ frissons using skin electrodermal activity sensors and presents the aggregated data alongside online videos. Following a design process of brainstorming, focus group interview (N=7), and design iterations, we proposed three different designs to encode viewers’ frisson experiences, namely, ambient light, icon, and vibration. A mixed-methods within-subject study (N=48) suggested that our approach offers a non-intrusive and efficient way to share viewers’ frisson moments, increases the social presence of others as if watching together, and can create affective contagion among viewers.