iDisconnect: smartphones, social media and mobile mediation

Abstract

This thesis examines the evolution of mobile phones, social media and their impacts on self and society. Key elements include how the use of mobile phones blurs fundamental aspects of social organization such as the distinction between public and private life, understandings of time and space and social norms of behavior in face to face interaction. Additionally, social media further blurs these fundamental aspects of social organization of daily life, and offers sites for self-expression to a mass audience. The primary data source was focused interviews with 11 smartphone owners and social media users, whether past or present. The study's key findings provide a nuanced understanding of people's relationships with smartphones, each other and their perceptions of mobile mediated interactions