%0 Journal Article
%T Video
%A Johann Chaulet
%A Julien Figeac
%J Mobile Media & Communication
%@ 2050-1587
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/2050157917747642
%X This paper aims to analyze the uses of mobile social network services (mSNS) during daily commutes on the basis of a video ethnography conducted with 35 users of the Facebook app. This method is based on the combination of context-oriented recordings made with user-worn camera glasses and mobile screen video capture. These data reveal the way smartphone usage patterns tend to be organized according to notification functions (mSNS, SMS), a specific set of technical cues that mediatize social demand and promote social connectedness. Users manage these cues through a recurrent trend composed of a three-step sequence: they often start by using applications displaying notifications; they favor those that display social demands; and, among them, they prioritize these relational solicitations in accordance with social status or types of relationships. By examining the distribution of users¡¯ attention between urban environments and smartphone applications, this video-ethnography also highlights how these ¡°checking habits¡± are organized according to a set of spatial cues and some daily commute characteristics, such as visual coordination with passengers in public transport. These technical cues mediatize a growing number of social demands that encourage users to keep their eyes focused on their smartphone¡¯s screen in public spaces. We argue that these technical cues create a temporary bubble effect and social isolation at a proximal scale, which mostly operate at the beginning of smartphone usage patterns
%K connection cue
%K mobile phone
%K mobility
%K social media
%K usage pattern
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2050157917747642