Home curation versus teenage photography: Photo displays in the family home

  • Authors:
  • Abigail Durrant;David Frohlich;Abigail Sellen;Evanthia Lyons

  • Affiliations:
  • Digital World Research Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK;Digital World Research Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK;Microsoft Research, 7 JJ Thomson Ave, Cambridge CB3 0FB, UK;School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, David Keir Building, 39-123 Stranmillis Rd, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK

  • Venue:
  • International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
  • Year:
  • 2009

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Abstract

In this paper we report an empirical study of the photographic portrayal of family members at home. Adopting a social psychological approach and focusing on intergenerational power dynamics, our research explores the use of domestic photo displays in family representation. Parents and their teenagers from eight families in the south of England were interviewed at home about their interpretations of both stored and displayed photos within the home. Discussions centred on particular photographs found by the participants to portray self and family in different ways. The findings show that public displays of digital photos are still curated by mothers of the households, but with more difficulty and less control than with analogue photos. In addition, teenagers both contribute and comply with this curation within the home, whilst at the same time developing additional ways of presenting their families and themselves online that are 'unsupervised' by the curator. We highlight the conflict of interest that is at play within teen and parent practices and consider the challenges that this presents for supporting the representation of family through the design of photo display technology.