How iPod Users Produce and Experience Social Connection

Various science and technology studies (STS) scholars argue that users are active agents who provide insight in the uses of a technology. While researchers describe the effects of technologies like the Apple iPod

Contents

Introduction: Users and the Social Shaping of Technologies
Background: The iPod, Technology, and Sociality
Spaces of Culture
Theorizing Material Use and Everyday Practice
The Social Construction of the iPod as Technology (SCOT)
Material-Semiotic Approaches to Technology
Situating Material Users: Feminist Approaches to Technology
Research Design
Methods of Analysis
Findings: Using and Attributing Meaning to the iPod
The iPod as a Personal Event
Being around People or with People
“Sharing part of me”: Social Connection through File Sharing
“It makes you feel like you’re part of something”: Social Connection
through Ownership
“It definitely got the party started”: Social Connection through Collective
Usage
Conclusion: Beyond Interpretive Flexibility of Users
Appendix
Table 1: Social-Demographic Characteristics of Participants
Interview Guide Open Ended Questions
Bibliography

Author: Yaksich, Michael John

Source: University of Maryland

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