Technology In the Public Sphere

This week, we have read many studies about the use of technology in public spaces, and the effect it has on interactions between people. When the weather is (finally!) nice in New England, it is not at all uncommon to see students outside all around campus, typing on laptops, talking or texting on cell phones, or listening to ipods/other mp3 players. In "The Social Life of Wireless Urban Spaces: Internet Use, Social Networks, and the Public Realm", Hampton, Livio, and Sessions say that using these technologies in public spaces generally makes people look less approachable. I asked my roommates and other friends what they thought of this assertion, and it seemed like the general opinion was that people talking on their cellphones or listening to music with earbuds in always seem less approachable than people simply on laptops with no headphones and no cellphones.

I also mentioned in class about my "awkward situation texting" with one of my friends. Whenever one of us is in a situation where we are waiting around for someone, we will text each other. Just the other day, I was waiting outside Blackman Auditorium for my friend to show up to go in to find seats to see a comedian, and I texted my "awkward texting" friend as large amounts of students filed past me. The aforementioned friends and roommates that I asked about approaching people using technology in public spaces also reported doing similar things in this type of a situation, either actually texting someone or just playing with their phones. We discussed how it was interesting that we felt the need to at least LOOK like we were communicating with someone as our peers walked by us in groups. We couldn't really come up with a concrete answer as to why we felt the need to fiddle with our phones, except for the superficial reason that we didn't want to look like a "loner", standing off to the side of a public place by ourselves. In the Blackman Auditorium case, I'm sure at least a handful of people I at least casually know and would wave to walked by me, but since my head was down, I didn't see or interact with them. I guess it is kind of a vulnerable position to be in, and texting or at least fiddling with your phone both puts up a barrier between you and the people passing by, and sends the message of "I may be standing alone right now, but look... I have friends that I'm texting!". The people I discussed this with and I decided that we're going to try not to put up the awkward texting cell phone barrier next time we're in a public place waiting for someone to see how it feels and if more passersby interact with us.