Course:LIBR559A/Anderson, B. et al (2002)

Citation

Editing Anderson, B., Gale, C., Gower, A. P., France, E. F., Jones, M., Lacohee, H. V., Trimby, M. (2002). Digital Living: People-Centered Innovation and Strategy. BT Technology Journal, 20, 2nd ser., 11-29.

Annotation

"Digital Living" is an analysis of research performed by BTexact Technologies, a telecommunications company in the UK. The article seeks to look at how digital products such as the mobile telephone and high-speed Internet access have influenced the day-to-day lives of a variety of test groups. These test groups range from adults to children, with two test groups also targeting high school and college aged teenagers, as well as gay men. The article is intended to show how technology influences our social behavior in ways that cannot be predicted by the designers and engineers behind technology, and is supported largely by quantitative data such as surveys, as well as fieldwork such as interviews.

The article maps out exactly how connected we are with these new technologies in hand, but notices a lack of displaced hobbies and outdoor activities that are commonly associated with Internet and telephone use. Instead, by looking at surveys in which members collected data on daily activities in 15 minute intervals, Anderson et al noticed that even in test groups which were not given Internet access, different indoor and media consumption activities (such as watching videos) replaced time spent on the Internet. The only noticeable difference was how survey members chose to eat -- to go out to a restaurant (those who spent less time on the Internet) or to order delivery (those who spent more time on the Internet).

By setting aside the common complaints of Internet use, Anderson et al are able to give a much more in-depth look at how these daily objects affect our social lives. The new social roles placed on teenagers, though unsurprising, are still quite fascinating to see listed out and framed as "unanticipated uses." The primary example used throughout is the telephone, which was designed to provide musical entertainment rather than social calls. However, the article is from the early 2000's, and the emphasis on teenagers and gay men may come from some kind of post-millennium era biases or assumptions against these two subgroups. Overall, the article is well suited for research that intends to look directly at the producers behind technology, and how their sometimes chaos-fueled innovations affect us in ways even they might not expect.

Page author: Amanda Depperschmidt