The Island of Loneliness

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Junxiu Tang, Rui Sheng, Yifang Wang, Xinhuan Shu, Xiaojiao Chen, Tan Tang, Yingcai Wu

 Room: 103

2023-10-25T23:45:00ZGMT-0600Change your timezone on the schedule page
2023-10-25T23:45:00Z

Exemplar figure, described by caption below — In today's interconnected world, everything is connected by the internet, but people still feel lonely. Through a data-driven approach, we physicalize people's perpetual loneliness into an island metaphor and try to reveal the overlooked voices within the internet data flow.

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Abstract

Loneliness and isolation are eternal emotions in human beings. Technological advancements create ample avenues, like social medias, for individuals to articulate themselves and record emotions. However, the sense of loneliness has never vanished, as their expressions are easily buried in the digital stream. We analyze tweets that express loneliness during holiday seasons but receive few responses. By superimposing digital charts on physical models, we visualize these lonely posts and generate the island of loneliness. We aim to reveal the complexities of human emotions in the digital age and reflect on the interconnections between technology, solitude, and social communication.