November 6, Not a Single-User Device: Young Adults' Practices of Smartphone Use in Face-to-Face Interactions
Iuliia Avgustis, University of Oulu, Finland
SC&I visiting scholar
Not a Single-User Device: Young Adults' Practices of Smartphone Use in Face-to-Face Interactions
In-person location: SC&I 222. For those joining online:
https://rutgers.zoom.us/j/97391592955?pwd=NkJ4S3A3N0cyT3d0dnp6TklPdm1HUT09
ID: 973 9159 2955 PW: rucal
Abstract:
Smartphones and other mobile devices have become an integral part of modern daily lives, leading researchers to examine their impact on the quality of face-to-face interactions. This talk will focus on the multifaceted practices surrounding smartphones (such as photo-taking, digital content sharing, texting, etc.), and the way the nature of smartphone use is negotiated by co-present participants themselves.
In order to grasp the complexity of everyday smartphone-related practices, a unique method of data collection was implemented to record naturally occurring interactions among young adults. In addition to standard static cameras, participants were equipped with small wearable cameras, and screen capture software was used for each mobile device whenever technically feasible. All recorded interactions were then analyzed using the method of multimodal interaction analysis.
Such micro-analysis provides valuable insights into how young adults initiate, carry out, and negotiate solitary and collaborative smartphone use in co-present interactions with their peers. Despite smartphones being primarily designed as personal devices, the analysis demonstrates that when used in the co-presence of others, they cease to be solely single-user tools. The character of smartphone use, even during seemingly solitary activities such as messaging, is consistently shaped through negotiation and collaboration involving all co-present participants. The findings resulting from this micro-analysis shed light on how smartphones can both constrain and enhance co-present interactions. They offer valuable design implications for supporting individuals' own strategies in managing smartphone use and mitigating potential negative impacts on face-to-face interactions.
Bio:
Iuliia Avgustis is a doctoral researcher at the Research Unit for Languages and Literature and the Research Unit “Human Computer Interaction and Human-Centered Development (INTERACT)” at the University of Oulu, Finland. Her primary research interests lie in technology use in everyday and institutional settings, encompassing practices of smartphone use, interactions in video games and with artificial conversational agents. In her doctoral dissertation, she focuses on collocated and collaborative smartphone use in the context of everyday face-to-face interactions. Her interdisciplinary video-based research combines methodological insights from ethnomethodology, multimodal conversation analysis, sociology, and human-computer interaction.
Iuliia Avgustis, University of Oulu, Finland
SC&I visiting scholar
Not a Single-User Device: Young Adults' Practices of Smartphone Use in Face-to-Face Interactions
In-person location: SC&I 222. For those joining online:
https://rutgers.zoom.us/j/97391592955?pwd=NkJ4S3A3N0cyT3d0dnp6TklPdm1HUT09
ID: 973 9159 2955 PW: rucal
Abstract:
Smartphones and other mobile devices have become an integral part of modern daily lives, leading researchers to examine their impact on the quality of face-to-face interactions. This talk will focus on the multifaceted practices surrounding smartphones (such as photo-taking, digital content sharing, texting, etc.), and the way the nature of smartphone use is negotiated by co-present participants themselves.
In order to grasp the complexity of everyday smartphone-related practices, a unique method of data collection was implemented to record naturally occurring interactions among young adults. In addition to standard static cameras, participants were equipped with small wearable cameras, and screen capture software was used for each mobile device whenever technically feasible. All recorded interactions were then analyzed using the method of multimodal interaction analysis.
Such micro-analysis provides valuable insights into how young adults initiate, carry out, and negotiate solitary and collaborative smartphone use in co-present interactions with their peers. Despite smartphones being primarily designed as personal devices, the analysis demonstrates that when used in the co-presence of others, they cease to be solely single-user tools. The character of smartphone use, even during seemingly solitary activities such as messaging, is consistently shaped through negotiation and collaboration involving all co-present participants. The findings resulting from this micro-analysis shed light on how smartphones can both constrain and enhance co-present interactions. They offer valuable design implications for supporting individuals' own strategies in managing smartphone use and mitigating potential negative impacts on face-to-face interactions.
Bio:
Iuliia Avgustis is a doctoral researcher at the Research Unit for Languages and Literature and the Research Unit “Human Computer Interaction and Human-Centered Development (INTERACT)” at the University of Oulu, Finland. Her primary research interests lie in technology use in everyday and institutional settings, encompassing practices of smartphone use, interactions in video games and with artificial conversational agents. In her doctoral dissertation, she focuses on collocated and collaborative smartphone use in the context of everyday face-to-face interactions. Her interdisciplinary video-based research combines methodological insights from ethnomethodology, multimodal conversation analysis, sociology, and human-computer interaction.