Degrees of sharing: proximate media sharing and messaging by young people in khayelitsha

Authors:
Marion Walton;Gary Marsden;Silke Haßreiter;Sena Allen
Affiliations:
University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa;University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa;University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa;University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Venue:
MobileHCI '12 Proceedings of the 14th international conference on Human-computer interaction with mobile devices and services
Year:
2012

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Abstract

This paper explores the phone and mobile media sharing relationships of a group of young mobile phone users in Khayelitsha, South Africa. Intensive sharing took place within peer and intimate relationships, while resource sharing characterized relationships with a more extensive circle, including members of the older generation. Phones were kept open to others to avoid inferences of stinginess, disrespect, or secretiveness and the use of privacy features (such as passwords) was complicated by conflicts between an ethos of mutual support and the protection of individual property and privacy. Collocated phone use trumped online sharing but media on phones constituted public personae similar to social media 'profiles'. Proximate sharing within close relationships allowed social display, relationship-building and deference to authority. We suggest changes to current file-based interfaces for Bluetooth pairing, media 'galleries', and peer-to-peer text communication to better support such proximate exchanges of media and messaging.