Does Communication Everywhere Improve Communication?

As much we think we are multitaskers, there's a limit to what we can process. How has technology's enabling of communication anywhere and everywhere affected us in the context of traditional activities? How do they interplay with each other?

Cheng, Kevin. OK-Cancel (2005). Articles>Technology>Wireless Web>Collaboration

Social Topography in a Wireless Era: The Negotiation of Public and Private Space    

Talking on the phone is usually a private activity, but it becomes a public activity when using a cellphone in certain spaces. Unlike a traditional payphone in public, cellphones do not have privacy booths. Therefore, the ways in which people respond to cellphone calls in public spaces provide markers for social topographical space. In this study I explore how cellphone users negotiate privacy when using cellphones in public space and how those within the proximity of the caller negotiate space in response to these callers. Based on a year-long study involving observation fieldwork and in-depth interviews, I discuss the flexibility with which people constantly negotiate their private and public sense of self when using and responding to cellphones in public spaces.

Humphreys, Lee. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2005). Articles>Collaboration>Wireless Web>Geography