#mobilemedia

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In the reading by Lupton, D. (2020), the topics of data mattering and self-tracking which are closely related to mobile media was discussed. The study mainly concluded that people who were self-tracking their own data acknowledge the positive and negative impacts of making sense of such data. As self-tracking depends largely on the individual to do so, the choice of consistent and constant self tracking is fully on the user. In the reading, participants mainly echoed a similar consensus of how self-tracking data allows users to feel empowered and well aware of what is happening in their life be it their health or lifestyle.

In relation to the claims made in the reading, I agree with them as in today’s society mobile media is so integral in our lives that we take part in self-tracking voluntarily and we happily do so. From having applications that track our finances in an organised manner to even calorie tracking applications that help us keep track of the food we are consuming, they help us organise our lives in an extremely easy and convenient way. With self tracking, people are now more sensitive and aware of what is happening to themselves are they are able to take note more of both their mental and physical health. Nowadays, we can easily find someone with a smart watch such as Fitbits or Apple watches, tracking their progress as they complete their runs, monitoring their heart rate and many other functions of self tracking. Self-tracking with mobile media has advanced from just mobile phones to devices like smart watches. Self-tracking really allows people to keep track of their progress and allow them to monitor themselves without much effort. However, it is important that what people do with the data next is the most crucial step as to whether or not self-tracking really is effective. Data that come from self-tracking are dynamic as they interact with graphs or different types of visuals to present themselves to users. Personally, I do find myself tracking unconventional(maybe not so unconventional these days) parts of my life such as a period tracker. There are multiple apps that help one track their period and can even predict one’s next cycle based on information provided. Information that one can provide varies from period cycles to even mood swings. These help the app make better predictions as to when one’s next cycle is most likely to happen and can even estimate fertile periods. It really does make it a lot more convenient as there is no need to manually count days to the next period and it may even be more accurate as it takes into account many aspects such as exercise and lifestyle.

As mentioned in the reading, data can also come off as overwhelming as things that we may not have been cautious of have been carefully recorded and it can be overwhelming when we review them. It also brings up the issue of privacy as such tracking apps have access to personal information that users provide. It appears to be a choice made by users whether they are willing to trade privacy for convenience. One could be alarmed by their spending habits when they review their data and it can be overwhelming for individuals. However, I find that to be a positive aspect of self-tracking and the data it provides users an opportunity to reflect on their habits and make necessary changes. Without that data, people would be living in denial where they are not even made aware of certain bad habits or lifestyles and therefore don’t even have the capacity to fix them. Such data allows people to keep themselves in check and with mobile media, it's convenience has made it much easier for people to do so. People thus develop a certain sense of responsibility where they work together with non human entities(mobile media devices that allow tracking) to make better sense of their lifestyle.

Mobile media is said to transcend the constraints of time and space, and disrupt the social logic of public spaces (Ito, Okabe & Anderson, 2017). What this means is that portable artefacts (inclusive of but not limited to smartphones) are increasingly changing the way we interact with physical spaces and people, leading to the “personalisation of urban places”. In Ito et. al.’s reading, three major types of ‘presence’ in the urban space were identified: cocooning, camping and footprinting.

Being an avid user of portable technological devices and consumer of media myself, I find each genre of presence highly relatable. Cocooning involves using devices and media to create a private territory within the confines of urban spaces. Evidently in our society today, it is a common sight to see people plugged into their earphones on public transport, and even while walking along the streets. This creates a ‘bubble’ around each individual and allows us to momentarily claim personal space, especially during transition from place to place. While I appreciate this affordance by portable device, I find it increasingly difficult to approach people upon seeing them ‘occupied’ by their devices. For example, when I see an acquaintance in school sitting alone and using her phone with earpiece on, I would be more hesitant to say hi because I am unsure if she wants to be ‘disturbed’. However, while mobile media may result in increased social fragmentation with people increasingly wanting to retreat into their own ‘bubble’, one can also argue that the portability of smartphones affords greater social interaction with its convenience and instantaneous communication function. With people increasingly occupied with their personal devices, are there truly public spaces left?

Hence, mobile media has definitely altered the way we interact with urban locations. In terms of camping, I observed that places such as cafes, lounges and (now) even hotels are increasingly designed in such a way that increases its desirability as a ‘camping’ location. The free wifi and power plugs are some examples of how places may be tailored to suit people’s mobile kits (which has become increasingly generic) - e.g. mobile phones, laptops, chargers are some key essentials. Conversely, people’s mobile kits have also shaped our decision to visit places (e.g. consider where has power plugs). Our social practices have shaped urban locations, and vice versa.

Furthermore, footprinting enables the activities of people to be tracked more than ever. With physical reward cards rendering obsolete, people now heavily rely on mobile applications to perform many daily activities, including sustaining their relationships with commercial establishments. In this process of compromising personal data and consumption patterns, many of us still choose to subscribe to email newsletters, download apps to gain/redeem points and agree to their privacy terms and conditions in order to engage with public spaces - which has become increasingly digitised. The question to ask ourselves would be: is it really a choice? In the case of China’s cities where most merchants have gone cashless and rely on the Alibaba platform for economic transactions and retail information, people are left with no other options but to conform to such a system.

The researchers in this study chose to focus on how contemporary urbanites interact with the infrastructure and places around them through the use of portable information objects. This array of information and communication technologies support an individual’s identity, relationships, and activities through the phenomena of cocooning, camping, and footprinting. In the case of cocooning, people often engage with audio and visual devices to construct a personal media environment in public spaces. These cocoons are meant to kill time (usually during commute) and provide effective yet respectful escapes from one’s immediate surroundings. Camping, on the other hand, involves bringing portable media to specific locations where the individual feels a personal connection to. Unlike cocooning, where commuters are simply passing through, those who include setting up encampment in their schedules see value in residing in a desirable location for a period of time. The final case of footprinting describes the formation of individualised relationships to commercial establishments, more specifically, this manifests mostly in the form of loyalty schemes. This happens through the mediation of various member, reward, stamp, and access cards, which offers a systemic way of recognising a regular customer. This multitude of programmes one signs up for, however, can be increasingly difficult to keep track of as more businesses adopt such a model. In addition, it raises concerns of privacy and depersonalisation. All in all, there is no doubt that people are becoming more reliant on automated systems and technologies to customise their spaces and manage their everyday lives.

This week’s reading, “Portable Objects in Three Global Cities: The Personalization of Urban Places”, is about a study conducted in 3 global cities — Tokyo, Los Angeles and London. They aim to understand the ways in which information and communication technologies (ICTs) “shape our experience or urban space and time”.  In the study, the authors aim to study how portable devices constructs and support people’s identities and activities and even mediating relationships with people, places and institutions.

Unlike their previous researches, they aimed to shift their focus from private and interpersonal communication towards a more public and impersonal kinds of social exchanges. Through this study, they found that there were mainly 3 genres of presence that were common throughout the 3 cities despite their substantial differences in urban contexts — Cocoons, Encampments and Footprints.

These terms seemed foreign at first but as I read on, I realised that I know very well what these terms are. The authors explained Cocooning to be a private territory created by individuals within the confines of urban space. Cocooning help shelters the individuals from engagement. An example of cocooning would be reading a ebook or listening to iPod on the train. It functions as a way for people to “fill” or “kill” time.

Encampment is where people put down roots at places that they feel some affinity. Rather than “killing time”, people schedule and spend time at the location of encampment. An example would be the participants bringing their laptop to a certain cafe that they frequent, because of various reasons.

Lastly, Footprints are when places give out loyalty cards or rewards cards to track the customers’ orders and loyalty. The participants had different responses to these cards. Some find it intruding that the companies are collecting their data, while others are diligently trying to collect rewards.When foot printing is mentioned, privacy is involved.

I agree to a large extent when the authors said more and more of our articulation of personal and social relations to urban space is being delegated to different technologically embodied infrastructures, accessed with portable technologies of various kinds. While camping at the same starbucks everyday to study for my A Levels, the barista recognise me and my order. I managed to have social relations in a place that I set my roots in. At the same time, I used my starbucks card to collect “stars” that help me to collect a free drink/food everytime i reach 60 stars, where 1 star=$1 spent. 

Instagram recently announced that they will now make it possible for their users to do “in-app shopping”. Instagram developers have integrated tools for users to purchase items that are advertised on their timeline. Instead of just being able to just check the price, there is now a “check out” option that allows the app users to make purchases through the app without being taken to another website. Instagram will allow users to store their payment data, and also track their packages through their profile.

Some arguments that have come up after this announcement is whether or not Instagram will be able to protect their users privacy, and will they overload their users with more advertisements.