Demand in My Pocket

Abstract

This paper empirically explores the role that mobile devices have come to play in everyday practice, and how this links to demand for network connectivity and online services. After a preliminary device-logging period, thirteen participants were interviewed about how they use their iPhones or iPads. Our findings build a picture of how, through use of such devices, a variety of daily practices have come to depend upon a working data connection, which sometimes surges, but is at least always a trickle. This aims to inform the sustainable design of applications, services and infrastructures for smartphones and tablets. By focusing our analysis in this way, we highlight a littleexplored challenge for sustainable HCI and discuss ideas for (re)designing around the principle of 'light-weight' data 'needs'.

Personal Tracking of Screen Time on Digital Devices

“…There are some other studies in which data has been shown to users in an interview situation, for example the work of Carrascal et al [5] and Lord et al [30]. A consequence of the lack of work here is that little is known about what information users might want to see about their everyday device use.…”

“…More recently, several studies have collected data about how mobile devices are used, especially smartphones. For example there have been studies of when devices are unlocked/locked and what apps are launched [28,4,5]; of how battery power is consumed [16,17,15]; of people's communication patterns [49]; of security preferences [1]; of everyday connectivity [30]; and of people's locations when using devices [13]. Church et al [7] give an overview of this area of research and discuss how these studies contribute to a broader understanding of device usage behaviours.…”

“…This software need not necessarily have a user interface, and there have been several studies in which none is given (e.g. Do et al [13], Falaki et al [15], Karlson et al [26], Lord et al [30], Lee et al [28]). In other cases, particularly where an app is to be released through an app store and no incentive is given for installing the app, an interface has been provided (and indeed the interface serves as the incentive to install and retain the app [7]).…”

‘Doing good science’: The impact of invisible energy policies on laboratory energy demand in higher education

“…see Morley et al, 2018 for a recent exploration and summary). However, much of this research to date focuses on mobile devices and associated practices in the home, rather than the workplace (Lord et al, 2015, Widdicks et al, 2018. To date, research exploring the use of mobile devices and social media in the workplace is limited.…”

Synchronous Text Messaging

“…Lord et al [31] call for technology to support communicative "dead time", which to an extent Curtains Messenger does. The fact that users of Curtains could buzz each other at any time and sometimes did so playfully to annoy each other means that the app itself does not fully conform to this idea, but our findings point to the potential of synchronous technology for supporting dead time.…”