The Guardian summarizes a contemporary genre of “cyber-sceptic” literature, such as Sherry Turkle’s “Alone Together”, “The Shallows” by Nicholas Carr, “The Net Delusion” by Evgeny Morozov, and others – and also presents some critique of that […]
Category "Nonuse" (2/2)
The non-use of digital technology – with all its forms, motivations and consequences – has been one of my key research interests for well over a decade. I am particularly fascinated as I increasingly encounter a tight-woven overlap with #a11y and #privacy.
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Using Sociology(!) to Explain Unfollows on Twitter ayman-naaman.net (via archive.org)
Many studies, in academia and industry, in computer science and sociology (this one too), examine creation of new ties in social networks, but very few examine tie breaks and persistence.
Mor Naaman on a paper written with two colleagues (PDF) about a little-researched […] -
This research aims to provide a framework for the consideration of non-users in the context of social interaction design (SxD), in particular for the design of social network sites (SNSs). The theory of “The Absent Peer” consists of two core concepts, presenting the network aspect and the sociality aspect how non-use influences SNS concepts. Herein, the focus of the work is on the discovery of the impact of non-use rather than on its reasons. Building on the insights from the study, this report presents the conceptual considerations for the creation of valuable SNS concepts that acknowledge non-use as a permanent and complex phenomenon of social reality. The work is based on the sociological perspective of symbolic interactionism. Social interaction design is presented as a practice within the discipline of interaction design, with its goals defined through a discussion on user value and worth-centred design.
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Clive Thompson in Praise of Online Obscurity wired.com (via archive.org)
An ode to keeping things small and obscure: Clive Thompson argues why “socializing doesn’t scale”, as communities beyond a certain size are more anonymous and lead to less interaction.
the world’s bravest and most important ideas are often forged away from the spotlight — in small, obscure groups of people who are passionately interested in a subject and like arguing about it. They’re willing to experiment with risky or dumb concepts because they’re among intimates. (It was, after all, small groups of marginal weirdos that brought us the computer, democracy, and the novel.)
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Is it possible to opt out of social networking? jonoscript.wordpress.com
Here’s an interesting blog post bringing together questions of technology non-use (or more accurately: its apparent impossibility in certain circumstances) and privacy:
My friends did not ask my permission before giving Facebook all this information about me. Why would they? […]
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In an extensive historical analysis, Adam Thierer provides a comparison between internet optimists (“Theuthian Technophiles”) and internet pessimists (“Thamusian Technophobes”). Evaluating, but not judging, he concludes:
The sensible middle ground position is […]
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Brain Error: No space left on device : every108minutes every108minutes.com (via archive.org)
Keith Brophy puts a spin on the theory that “anthrophony” (the noise pollution created by humans, specifically by their machines and other non-human sounds) disrupts the carefully compartmentalized “biophony” (the soundscape of various species in nature) of nature, by […]
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Social topiary cennydd.co.uk (via archive.org)
Cennydd Bowles suggests the term “social topiary” to describe the phenomenon/experience of more input (via digital media) than a person can handle. […]
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