A Snapshot of Bystander Attitudes about Mobile Live-Streaming Video in Public Settings

Cori Faklaris; Francesco Cafaro; Asa Blevins; Matthew A. O’Haver; Neha Singhal

doi:10.3390/informatics7020010

Informatics (Mar 2020)

A Snapshot of Bystander Attitudes about Mobile Live-Streaming Video in Public Settings

Cori Faklaris,
Francesco Cafaro,
Asa Blevins,
Matthew A. O’Haver,
Neha Singhal

Affiliations

Cori Faklaris: Human-Computer Interaction Institute, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Francesco Cafaro: Department of Human-Centered Computing, School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
Asa Blevins: Department of Human-Centered Computing, School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
Matthew A. O’Haver: Department of Human-Centered Computing, School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
Neha Singhal: Department of Human-Centered Computing, School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics7020010
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 7, no. 2
p. 10

Abstract

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With the advent of mobile apps such as Periscope, Facebook Live, and now TikTok, live-streaming video has become a commonplace form of social computing. It has not been clear, however, to what extent the current ubiquity of smartphones is impacting this technology’s acceptance in everyday social situations, and how mobile contexts or affordances will affect and be affected by shifts in social norms and policy debates regarding privacy, surveillance, and intellectual property. This ethnographic-style research provides a snapshot of attitudes about the technology among a sample of US participants in two public contexts, both held outdoors in August 2016: A sports tailgating event and a meeting event. Interviews with n = 20 bystanders revealed that many are not fully aware of when their image or speech is being live-streamed in a casual context, and some want stronger notifications of and ability to consent to such broadcasting. We offer design recommendations to help bridge this socio-technical gap.

Published in Informatics

ISSN: 2227-9709 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Technology (General): Industrial engineering. Management engineering: Information technology
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/informatics

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