Keith N Hampton

A new paper, \’The Social Life of Wireless Urban Spaces: Internet Use, Social Networks, and the Public Realm,\’ with Oren Livio and Lauren Sessions Goulet was published in the December issue of the Journal of Communication. I\’m exited that there is a companion photo essay that was published in the journal Contexts. There is also an audio interview of me on the Office Hours podcast discussing these papers.

This study explores the role of urban public spaces for democratic and social engagement. It examines the impact of wireless Internet use on urban public spaces, Internet users, and others who inhabit these spaces. We used place- and person-based behavioral mapping approaches to complete detailed observations of people in 7 parks, plazas, and markets in four North American cities. The places we examined included: (1) Bryant Park, NYC, (2) Union Square, NYC, (3) Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, (4) Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia, (5) Union Square, San Francisco, (6) Dundas Square, Toronto, and (7) Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto. Observations were completed on wireless Internet users, mobile phone users, people reading books/newspapers, and people playing video games. We also completed interviews/surveys of wireless Internet users in those sites. We explored how the use of new mobile technologies is related to processes of social interaction, privatism, and democratic engagement. Findings reveal that Internet use within public spaces affords interactions with existing acquaintances that are more diverse than those associated with mobile phone use. However, the level of colocated social diversity to which Internet users are exposed is less than that of most users of these spaces. Yet, online activities in public spaces do contribute to broader participation in the public sphere. Internet connectivity within public spaces may contribute to higher overall levels of democratic and social engagement than what is afforded by exposure within similar spaces free of Internet connectivity.