Introduction
For my digital project on one of the ways media audience research and spatial research can interact, I have decided to look at the difference in content of mobile phone usage when people are at home and when people are commuting. I would like to look at the kind of content different users look at when they feel comfortable in their private walls of home and the change in it when they are on their way to school or work via public transportation where it is quite an enclosed space with many people.
I am interested in this topic as I can relate to this change in my own content when I use my mobile phone as I am much more free to look at whatever I want to on my phone when I am at home, however feel more self-conscious of what I look at when there are people around me during my commute to or from school. Although the content I look at are not scandalous at all, I still find myself worried about others’ reaction to my interests.
Background
“Shoulder surfing” is an act of one looking over someone’s shoulder to get information and is commonly taken place in the midst of a crowded place due to the easiness of it when standing next to someone.
According to Schwedel H. (2018), explains that this act that is widely regarded as a violation of privacy is not actually intentional and we can simply get engrossed in what someone else is doing in public even without realizing it ourselves. One’s eyes may easily land upon another’s screen without much purpose in a situation where they are stuck in a small space together.
Since this is a behaviour that occurs commonly and unintentionally, the actions of people using their phones in public transportation to try to hide their activities from prying eyes will be interesting to examine.
Stakeholders
My key stakeholders will be teenagers and young adults as an article by LiveScience (2013) suggests that this particular age group are more concerned by the judgement of other’s and are more self-conscious of themselves. I have associated this fear of judgement of how they look to others as the same with their mobile phone screens as their devices are an extension of themselves.
This research will encourage discussion among teens and young adults as they are able to relate to the participants by finding themselves doing similar behaviours and reactions.
Methodology
I have chosen to use traditional ethnography to conduct this research by observing and following a few participants from different age groups and genders in order to fully understand different behaviours, reactions and reasoning in the change of their mobile phone content when at home and when commuting.
I will be conducting small-scale interviews with the same participants as well to collect qualitative data to understand this change on a deeper level. A few of my interview questions will include:
- Why are you more comfortable looking at this content on your mobile phone at home than on public transportation?
- Would you feel the same way on a different public transportation?
- What are your expectations of people’s reaction when they see the content on your mobile phone when you are usually at home?
- What is your own reaction when you see content of other people’s mobile phones on public transportation?
Platform
I will present my findings via video and will be posting it on YouTube as it will be able to showcase different behaviours and the level of comfort when using their mobile phones in different places more accurately. Videos of the interviews will also allow their answers to be reflected and retold in this research correctly without it being misunderstood by me during the presenting of my findings.
Since I will be conducting this research through traditional ethnography and face-to-face interviews which will need physical interaction with the participants, I have deemed video to be the best choice.
LiveScience. (2013, July 2). Why Self-Consciousness Peaks in Teenage Years. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/37910-self-consciousness-teenage-brain.html
Schwedel H. (2018, May 10). In Defence of Peaking at a Stranger’s iPhone Screen. Slate. Retrieved from https://slate.com/technology/2018/05/in-defense-of-peeking-at-a-strangers-iphone-screen.html
Diana Conseja 