Beyond being green: simple living families and ICT

Paper in proceeding, 2013

Motivated by a need in sustainable HCI for studies of everyday practices, and a belief that a holistic view on sustainability is crucial to deeper understanding of how to design ICT to support sustainability, we here present a qualitative study of 11 simple living families in the US. Simple living refers to a lifestyle which is voluntarily simple out of concern for both the environment and quality of life. Our goal was to learn about a holistic view on sustainability and the role of ICT in helping and hindering families to live simply. The study contributes new insights about how holistic sustainability could be a valuable lens for HCI, revealing that sustainability is important to a wider range of areas in HCI than previously discussed. We conclude with implications for HCI for how to support sustainable practices beyond being "about" being green.