Mobile Phone as Emotion Device: Balance Work and Professional Life with Mobil Messaging
Mobile messaging is very
popular among young people even though mobile phones are not a good tool for this task. Considering the inherent usability weaknesses of mobile phones such as the small display, poor input methods, the moving environment, and noisy surroundings, this use success is hard to explain with traditional usability theories that ignore the social-cultural context.
To explore this intriguing phenomenon, I will introduce a new framework of cultural usability and discuss a recent case study employing the framework in the presentation. The cultural usability framework suggests that IT use is a complex and dynamic interaction with underlying contextual factors. We need to study both the broad socio-cultural context and the immediate use context and examine the interaction of these two levels to better understand
technology use. The case study illustrates how mobile
messaging technology is nicely blended into the busy workday schedule of a 30s female professional (a heavy user) and how she uses this technology to balance her work and personal life. I will discuss her text messages sent and received during a one-week period, the observation of her half-day work life, and interview findings.
Based on the case study, I argue that mobile messaging a) fulfills users’ emotional needs of staying in contact with friends and loved ones and b) helps users maintain their different identities (e.g., a good manager, a good wife, and a good friend) in an information-overloaded society.