Young People and the Smartphone: Everyday Life on the Small Screen

Description

In recent years, smartphones and digital platforms have become essential to our lives and are now inextricably interwoven into the everyday practices of millions, especially young people. Focusing on smartphone practices and experiences of youth today, this volume is the result of empirical research based on focus groups and in-depth interviews with young people aged 18-30. Grounded in media theory and analyzed through a blended lens of media and science and technology studies, the book offers detailed and fascinating insights into the everyday use of smartphones. Topics covered include the role of the smartphone as material technology, its use in interpersonal relationships, photographic practices, music and consumer practices, along with the deconstruction of the notion of smartphone ‘addiction’. Acknowledgements Contents About the Authors Chapter 1: Introduction: Young People, the Smartphone, and Our Deeply Mediatised World 1 Researching Young People and the Smartphone 2 The Design of the Empirical Research 3 Structure of the Book References Chapter 2: The Smartphone as an Infrastructural Media Technology 1 The Smartphone as Media Technology 2 An ‘Infrastructural Disposition’ to Study Digital Media and the Smartphone 3 Electricity: ‘Obviously the Battery Hardly Lasts at All’ 4 Signal: ‘It’s More a Network Issue’ 5 Data: ‘Clearly It Used Up All My Gigas’ 6 Operating System: ‘and Then It Started Struggling with Updates’ 7 Platforms: “It’s a Bit of an Indelible Memory” 8 Conclusion References Chapter 3: Intimately Connected Devices 1 Smartphone as Access Key to the Infrastructures of Intimacy 2 Face-to-Face vs. Mediated Communication 3 Meeting Someone via Social Network Apps 4 Online Dating Apps 5 Sexting 6 Conclusion References Chapter 4: Digital Photography Practices 1 Digital Photography and Smartphones 2 Smartphones as Cameras 3 Subjects and Shots 4 Post-production and Social Network Sharing 5 To Print or Not to Print? The Modern Photo Dilemma 6 Conclusion References Chapter 5: Smartphones, Music Platforms, and the Algorithm Selection 1 Music, Smartphones, and Online Platforms 2 From MP3 to Streaming 3 The Role of Spotify in Streaming Music Consumption 4 A Multiplicity of Intertwined Digital Music Services 5 The Algorithmic Discovery of Music 6 Conclusion References Chapter 6: Apps and Consumer Experiences 1 Shopping and the Digital World 2 Online Purchasing Experiences: Those Deputed to Buy 3 What People Buy: Travel, Books, and Technology as ‘Search Goods’ 4 Clothing and Experience Goods 5 Marketplaces: First Amazon and Then the Others 6 Trust and Problems 7 App, Browser, or Computer Experiences 8 Motives Behind Buying Online or Offline 9 Conclusion References Chapter 7: Smartphones Beyond Addiction 1 The Addiction Image 2 Internet and Smartphone Addiction as a Psychological Disorder 3 ‘I’ll Stop When I Want To’ 4 Detox Practices 5 Common Sense at Work 6 ‘Young People Aren’t What They Used to be’ 7 Conclusion References Index