intermittent participation how sociability and usability shape mediated mobile interaction
TRANSCRIPT
Intermittent Participation: How Sociability and Usability Shape Mediated Mobile Interaction
Dana Rotman, Prof. Jennifer Preece
INTRODUCTION
Smart phone are everywhere, offering constant connectivity, creating a culture of constant engagement – through social networking tools and collaborative applications.
Social networking – used to take place in a stationary environments, now can be done everywhere, anytime, on the go.
How do these changes affect social interactions?
PREVIOUS WORK
HCI – research of specific applications, lesser emphasis on the overall effect of perpetual connectivity on mediated interaction
Education – emphasis on mobile applications in the learning environment, less on the social aspects of mobile connectivity in educational settings
Mobile communication “affect every aspect of our personal and professional lives either directly or indirectly” (Katz and Aakhus, 2002)
PREVIOUS WORK
Young users are considered part of a “multimedia generation”, they are “digital natives” that were born with technology, and specifically mobile technology, at the palm of their hands.
“There is a youth culture that finds in mobile communication an adequate form of expression and reinforcement” (Castells et al. 2007)
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLANDMOBILITY INITIATIVE
• Honors students and other selected groups of students received mobile devices (iPhones) to be used on and off campus. • Integrated curricular and student-life applications within a university portal • Mobile devices are used in class or for class projects• The university promoted mediated interaction between students and faculty
PARTICIPANTS
Honors students Communication
students
N 12 (13%) 21 (64%)
Age 18.7 (SD = .5) 20.1 (SD = 1)
Gender (M:F) 2:3 2:3
Previous ownership of mobile device
100% 100%
Previous ownership of computer
100% 100%
Social networking profiles
100% 100%
METHODOLOGY
• Focus groups – • Open ended discussions that were used to elicit and
validate collective testimonials, and produce particular experiences, practices and insights.
• Personal interviews – • Based on data collected in the focus groups, some
participants were contacted for personal interviews in which the same topics were discussed in depth
• Cooperative Inquiry – • An interactive method for engaging users in technology
design, in which participants reflect on their use of technology, their likes and dislikes (Druin et al. 2005)
• Survey data – • Collecting demographics and data about personal
interaction patterns
Conne
ct to
Inte
rnet
Check
Em
ail
Check
Soc
ial N
etwor
k
Updat
e Soc
ial N
etwor
kCha
t
Photo
s
Comm
uniti
es
Mic
roblo
g
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
All the Time
Every Hour
Several Times a Day
Once a Day
Not Everyday
Never
% o
r R
esp
on
ses
FINDINGS – COMMUNICATION PATTERN
SOCIABILITY
People
PolicyPurpose
(Preece, 2000)
SOCIABILITY
Communication Partner
EtiquetteMessage Content
SOCIABILITY
Communication Partner
Etiquette
Message Content
Subjective norm
USABILITY
Usability - ensuring that interactive products are easy to learn, effective to use and enjoyable from the user's perspective (Shneiderman, 2009).
“My daily life revolves around my iPhone, I just have everything on my iPhone, my music, my email, my calendar, Facebook, reminders. I can write myself notes, just everything on one spot" (Kate, female)
USABILITY ISSUES
Dissimilar mobile and online applications
USABILITY ISSUES
Keyboard layout and lack of tactile movement
USABILITY ISSUES
Screen size – problematic when interacting online
INTERMITTENTPARTICIPATION
“I can check it (Facebook) on my mobile too, but I don't reply to anyone on this; I don't send out any information. I check my email, my Gmail, if I have to send an email or if it's something I can writequickly, that is more urgent, then I do send it off my mobile…. But if I have my laptop I would probably take out my laptop and use it" (Ben, male)
"If I have messages or check into chat, I'm not going to reply to all of them. I just like to check and know that, yes, I have to reply to these messages" (Samantha, female).
CONCLUSIONS
• When using iPhones, sociability and usability pulled users in different directions
• Users could not enjoy the affordances of mobile connectivity in their entirety due to design hindrances
• The tension between sociability and usability creates an awareness of others, while circumventing usability constraints, and calibrating participation to the most desired and useful level.
•Filtering information and maintaining intermittent participation is somewhat similar to the communication overload phenomenon (Whittaker et al. 1998)
AND THEN…..
