Abstract
The demands of flexible labour and the technologization of social networks are currently being felt in profound shifts in the ways in which we spend time with others. This article analyses the everyday communicative practices of adults living in Sydney surrounding their use of text messaging in shared social spaces. Asking the research participants when, how and why they rely on text messaging exposes increasingly routine transgressions of boundaries between different social spheres. While participants were acutely aware of largely unspoken social norms and expectations attached to mobile phone use in the presence of others, they themselves strategically used text messages to create layers of intimacy within shared social spaces. We explore the implications of this tension by highlighting how rituals of social interaction are cared about by social actors but play into a wider sense of the abandonment of care for the presence of others.
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 703-719 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Media, Culture and Society |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 11 Jul 2015 |
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'People just don't care' : practices of text messaging in the presence of others. / Cahir, Jayde; Lloyd, Justine.
In: Media, Culture and Society, Vol. 37, No. 5, 11.07.2015, p. 703-719.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - 'People just don't care'
T2 - Media, Culture and Society
AU - Cahir, Jayde
AU - Lloyd, Justine
PY - 2015/7/11
Y1 - 2015/7/11
N2 - The demands of flexible labour and the technologization of social networks are currently being felt in profound shifts in the ways in which we spend time with others. This article analyses the everyday communicative practices of adults living in Sydney surrounding their use of text messaging in shared social spaces. Asking the research participants when, how and why they rely on text messaging exposes increasingly routine transgressions of boundaries between different social spheres. While participants were acutely aware of largely unspoken social norms and expectations attached to mobile phone use in the presence of others, they themselves strategically used text messages to create layers of intimacy within shared social spaces. We explore the implications of this tension by highlighting how rituals of social interaction are cared about by social actors but play into a wider sense of the abandonment of care for the presence of others.
AB - The demands of flexible labour and the technologization of social networks are currently being felt in profound shifts in the ways in which we spend time with others. This article analyses the everyday communicative practices of adults living in Sydney surrounding their use of text messaging in shared social spaces. Asking the research participants when, how and why they rely on text messaging exposes increasingly routine transgressions of boundaries between different social spheres. While participants were acutely aware of largely unspoken social norms and expectations attached to mobile phone use in the presence of others, they themselves strategically used text messages to create layers of intimacy within shared social spaces. We explore the implications of this tension by highlighting how rituals of social interaction are cared about by social actors but play into a wider sense of the abandonment of care for the presence of others.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84936773842&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0163443715577242
DO - 10.1177/0163443715577242
M3 - Article
VL - 37
SP - 703
EP - 719
JO - Media, Culture and Society
JF - Media, Culture and Society
SN - 0163-4437
IS - 5
ER -