Potential Effects of Ubiquitous Computing on Civic Engagement

In this workshop position paper, we examine some negative as well as some positive trends in ubicomp with respect to civic engagement. We also describe some critical questions for stimulating the direction of research in this area. INTRODUCTION “We can almost always tell if a change will bring good or bad tidings. Certain things we definitely do not want, like the television and the radio. They would destroy our visiting practices. We would stay at home with the television or radio rather than meet with other people. The visiting practices are important because of the closeness of the people. How can we care for the neighbor if we do not visit them or know what is going on in their lives?” --Amish Interviewee, in the book Bowling Alone In his book Bowling Alone [7], Putnam described three ways in which technology and mass media can have negative consequences on civic participation and social capital. These include (1) going from being a source of information to simple entertainment, (2) loss of emotional meaning of message in text, and (3) creation of narrow focus groups that only talk about things of interest to them and never branch out. What is interesting here is that these issues are at the heart of this workshop: ubiquitous technologies that, on the one hand has some positive social benefits, but on the other, promotes many negative ones as well, such as feelings of isolation and depression. This leads to a rather unsettling question, which is, what if the ubicomp technologies we as a community are developing fosters a further reduction in civic participation in the public sphere? The goal of this position paper is to look at this issue of ubicomp and civic participation. On the surface, it is not immediately clear how the proliferation of wireless networking, sensors, and devices of all form factors might affect public participation. Are there ways we can more easily identify potentially isolating technologies, before they are deployed? We outline a few trends in ubicomp technologies that we believe are headed in this direction. Perhaps more important to ask here is the converse of the previous question, that is, are there compelling ubicomp systems that have the potential for fostering civic participation? Here, we sketch out a few systems that we believe may have such positive benefits. We also describe Whisper, a web-based and mobile system we have developed for helping people find and coordinate public community events like concerts, sporting events, and neighborhood fairs. We close with some critical questions for ubiquitous computing and civic engagement. POTENTIALLY NEGATIVE TRENDS IN UBICOMP Here, we outline some ubiquitous computing trends that we believe may have negative impact on civic engagement. Many of the claims here are quite broad and are not meant as blanket statements against these technologies, but rather guideposts signifying rough trends in where we might be heading. Home Entertainment Systems The rapidly decreasing cost of high-quality televisions and flatscreen LCDs, stereo equipment, and DVD players is making it easier for average consumers to purchase home entertainment systems that rival the experience of going to a movie theater. Video game systems are also an important factor. According to the National Institute on Media and the Family, there are 108 million people over the age of 13 in the United States playing video games today, with 13 million of those considered “hard-core,” people who spend upward of 15 hours a week playing these games [4]. While fun and entertaining, these kinds of home entertainment systems also greatly lower the barriers to cheap and easy entertainment, making “staying at home” the path of least resistance. It is likely that this trend will continue as more and more digital lifestyle systems and smart home systems are developed and become inexpensive enough for average home owners to purchase, reducing the chance of serendipitous encounters, reducing general awareness of one’s local surroundings, and limiting opportunities for meeting new people. They also replace face-to-face communication with simply watching television, making it difficult to develop communication skills, strengthen bonds with others, and meet people with differing viewpoints.