6th Annual International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems: Computing, Networking and Services

Research Article

Automation not automatically good in mobile social applications

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  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.4108/ICST.MOBIQUITOUS2009.7025,
    author={Sami  Vihavainen and Antti  Oulasvirta and Risto  Sarvas},
    title={Automation not automatically good in mobile social applications},
    proceedings={6th Annual International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems: Computing, Networking and Services},
    publisher={IEEE},
    proceedings_a={MOBIQUITOUS},
    year={2009},
    month={11},
    keywords={Application software Automatic control Automation GSM Human factors Information technology Mobile computing Mobile handsets Social implications of technology User interfaces},
    doi={10.4108/ICST.MOBIQUITOUS2009.7025}
}
  • Sami Vihavainen
    Antti Oulasvirta
    Risto Sarvas
    Year: 2009
    Automation not automatically good in mobile social applications
    MOBIQUITOUS
    IEEE
    DOI: 10.4108/ICST.MOBIQUITOUS2009.7025
Sami Vihavainen1,*, Antti Oulasvirta2,*, Risto Sarvas2,*
  • 1: Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIlT / Helsinki University of Technology TKK, P.O. Box 9800, FIN-02015 HUT, FINLAND. Phone: +358 44348 2517.
  • 2: Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIlT / Helsinki University of Technology TKKTKK, P.O. Box 9800, FIN-02015 HUT, FINLAND.
*Contact email: sami.vihavainen@hiit.fi, antti.oulasvirta@hiit.fi, risto.sarvas@hiit.fi

Abstract

Social interaction is increasingly computer mediated. Part of the mediated interaction is being automated by the technology used, especially in mobile phone technology. Human factors research has shown that automation is a mixed blessing. It changes the role of the human in the loop with effects on understanding, control, skill, vigilance, and ultimately trust and usefulness. The question we want to raise is: What are the implications of increasing automation in mobile social applications? Jaiku, a mobile awareness service, automates disclosure and diffusion of location metadata, and ZoneTag, a photo-uploading program, automates and suggests metadata associated with images. We discuss alternative models of automation in these systems and present a study of three user groups in Finland and California using Jaiku and ZoneTag. The results reveal issues related to control, understanding, emergent practices, and privacy. We discuss the potentials and limitations of automated solutions in this context and discuss about the need for further research on automation in mobile social applications.

Keywords
Application software Automatic control Automation GSM Human factors Information technology Mobile computing Mobile handsets Social implications of technology User interfaces
Published
2009-11-10
Publisher
IEEE
http://dx.doi.org/10.4108/ICST.MOBIQUITOUS2009.7025
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