Smartphones and Location Awareness in Brazil: Users’ Reactions

Abstract

type of communication with distant others was seen as "sustain [ing] only a semblance of 'real relations'" (Fischer, 1992, p. 224). It was feared it could replace face-to-face relations and undermine neighborhood solidarity.As far as these old technologies are concerned, history has made it clear that such negative reactions -known as dystopian -were triggered by fantasized threats and dangers mostly related to people's resistance to change and not to real negative consequences. Even so, it seems fears of the new do not subside. They tend to accompany the emergence of most novel inventions as is the case of contemporary communication technologies. Reactions to Contemporary Telecommunication TechnologiesThe Internet. Much in the same way as the telephone, the Internet introduced a new paradigm for acquiring information Throughout history, new inventions which produced radical changes in one or another aspect of people's ways of living have aroused different imaginary fears and frequent strong reactions. To name just a few, it was thought that writing would create loss of memory (Baym, 2010), the printing press would kill images (Eco, 1996) and the mechanization of labor would lead to the substitution of men for machines (Nisbet, 1966).Telecommunication technologies have not escaped this fate. The invention of the telephone is paradigmatic. In an analysis of the first impacts the telephone had on the American people, Fischer (1992) Abstract: The general objective of this study was to gain detailed information on how Brazilians are using the many features of their smartphones according to their own accounts. Among these features, of particular interest were the ways in which they react to and deal with the novelty presented by location awareness, especially in LBSN applications. A qualitative research guided by the Underlying Discourse Unveiling Method (UDUM) was carried out. Fifteen knowledgeable users of digital technologies aged between 23 and 38 were recruited in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Open-ended-question interviews were conducted with each. Results revealed that location-sharing reinforced their pre-existing fears related to violence and criminality. They knew that criminals may have access to these technologies. Therefore, in order to protect their personal safety most participants avoided location-disclosure. The fears mentioned by them are embedded in the violent context they live in. Keywords: Internet, communication and technology, fear, violence Smartphones e Recursos Locativos no Brasil: Reações de UsuáriosResumo: Este estudo teve o objetivo geral obter informações detalhadas sobre a maneira como brasileiros estão usando os diversos recursos de seus smartphones. Seu interesse específico foi entender como os usuários reagem à novidade da geolocalização presente em redes sociais locativas (RSLs) e como com ela lidam. Foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa guiada pelo Método de Explicitação do Discurso Subjacente (MEDS). Quinze usuários assíduos de tecnologias digitais, com idades entre 23 e 38 a...