Automatic stress tracking has become increasingly available on wearable devices. Research has investigated its use for individual stress management, largely within the traditional data-as-care framing. However, its use for stress sharing in social relationships, particularly close relationships, is still under explored. Inspired by the idea of "caring-through-data", which focuses on mediating the social and emotional experiences of the collective "us" with data, this paper presents a design study with a prototype called IntimaSea, a display featuring illustrative stress data in collective forms to be shared among close relationships. The field trials with nine groups of intimately-connected users (N=19) highlight its potential on stress awareness, interpretation and management, as well as intimacy promotion. We end by discussing sharing stress for social ways of stress management, stress data as a meaningful social cue mediating relationships, as well as design implications for caring-through-data.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581000
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