Abstract
As mobile devices become increasingly ubiquitous in everyday life, scholars are beginning to investigate the ways in which mobile technologies are used (consciously or otherwise) to control, modify, and mediate face-to-face interpersonal interactions. Both Mobile Interface Theory by Jason Farman and Mobile Interfaces in Public Spaces by Adriana de Souza e Silva and Jordan Frith explore the concept of interfaces and mobility, albeit from somewhat different angles.
The question must be asked: what is an interface? De Souza e Silva and Frith answer this question early on, broadly sketching the interface as something that facilitates communication between systems; it can also play an active role in reshaping communicative relationships and perceptions. This broad definition includes nondigital devices (e.g., newspapers, paperback books) among the items that can be characterized as mobile interfaces, since any of these can be wielded as a means of controlling social interactions in public places. Farman’s definition is narrower and comes much later in his book. He defines an interface as “a medium through which we connect to each other or to data of some kind” (p. 62), revealing a specific focus on the electronic mobile device.
Another important distinction between the authors seems to emerge when Farman introduces the idea of “object-to-object interfaces” (p. 63), which suggests that devices—“objects”—need not be under the direct control of human beings. Indeed, these objects can (and do) “interface with one another to exchange data” (p. 63). Farman hastens to point out that he does not see the device and the interface as one and the same, saying “the device serves as a part of the interface that is constituted as the larger set of social relations” (p. 64). Surface differences aside, this is not that drastic a departure from the views presented by de Souza e Silva and Frith, who maintain that individuals specifically utilize interfaces, digital or not, to “inform others about their levels of engagement” (p. 61) with the public environment.
This may be another primary point of divergence between the two books. While de Souza e Silva and Frith acknowledge the socializing and networking capabilities of digital mobile technologies, they are adamant in reminding the reader that handheld interfaces allow the individual to divorce his or her attention from reality and compartmentalize the self, even in public venues. These concerns are broadened conceptually in a chapter entitled “Locational Privacy,” which introduces concerns related to privacy policies, data collection disclosures, location tracking and monitoring, particularly as they pertain to our ever-present mobile devices. That said, the authors do not seem to be suggesting that we are all prisoners of a modern-day panopticon, as they point out that “surveillance is not inherently negative” (p. 124), and that interactions in semipublic spaces like cafes require a certain negotiation between privacy and self-disclosure. Ultimately, this specific chapter introduces a number of threads related to privacy and control that remain unresolved—these questions may be useful in informing a classroom discussion or public debate on mobile and locational privacy.
Though Farman briefly considers notions of privacy and mobility, he is much more interested in the concepts of transcendence and perspective, arguing that using a mobile device as one moves “actualizes the discovery of new perspectives” (p. 74). Farman’s interests in embodiment and perception are amply evident when he suggests that, in so many ways, the mobile device acts as an extension of, or a peripheral attachment to, the body. Proprioception, one’s internal perceptions of the self, can be altered and extended when entering this strange new world of location-based games, artwork, and messaging, according to Farman—for example, in discussing a GPS-based game, he describes the player as remaining “in a state of detachment from embodiment in the gaming space” (p. 88) until the GPS signal is at full strength. These ideas are carried through two full chapters on locative games and asynchronicity.
Both of these volumes provide useful starting points for understanding the philosophies that inform uses of mobile devices, particularly in public (or nonprivate) spaces, though they approach the task from decidedly different disciplinary traditions. The theoretical foundations of de Souza e Silva and Frith’s book are mostly grounded in the sociopsychological tradition of communication and media studies, while Farman’s phenomenological work pulls heavily from philosophy and performance theory. Despite these differing approaches, the books share some common ground, particularly in that all three authors agree that the ubiquity of mobile devices and computing will lead to continuing changes in sociability and performance. Unfortunately, neither book can stand alone as a complete examination of the mobile interface or the mobile experience, as several areas of inquiry (e.g., gender/queer theory, socioeconomic considerations, motives of manufacturers, user interface design, ethnic and cultural differences, content of digital interchanges, etc.) are explored only minimally or are absent from the texts entirely.
Mobile Interfaces in Public Spaces is the more accessible of the two books, in no small part because of the accessible writing style and use of fictional vignettes to introduce the primary concepts discussed in each chapter. As such, it would work reasonably well as a foundational text in a course on mobile theories. Farman’s focuses on embodiment and locational aspects of mobile media, however, would likely be of interest to those seeking a richer theoretical understanding of how we experience space and time in an increasingly networked world.