Accepted author manuscript, 267 KB, PDF document
Final published version
Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Conference contribution/Paper › peer-review
Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Conference contribution/Paper › peer-review
}
TY - GEN
T1 - Undesigning the Internet
T2 - Fifth International Conference on ICT for Sustainability (ICT4S)
AU - Widdicks, Kelly Victoria
AU - Ringenson, Tina
AU - Pargman, Daniel
AU - Kuppusamy, Vishnupriya
AU - Lago, Patricia
N1 - Conference code: 5TH
PY - 2018/5/10
Y1 - 2018/5/10
N2 - Internet connectivity is seamlessly integrated into many of our everyday habits and activities. Despite this, previous research has highlighted that our rather excessive Internet use is not sustainable or even always socially beneficial. In this paper, we carried out an exploratory study on how Internet disconnection affects our everyday lives and whether such disconnection is even possible in today’s society. Through daily surveys, we captured what Internet use means for ten participants and how this varies when they are asked to disconnect by default, and re-connect only when their Internet use is deemed as necessary. From our study, we found that our participants could disconnect from the Internet for certain activities (particularly leisure focused), yet they developed adaptations in their lives to address the necessity of their Internet use. We elicit these adaptations into five themes that encompass how the participants did, or did not, use the Internet based on their necessities. Drawing on these five themes, we conclude with ways in which our study can inspire future research surrounding: Internet infrastructure limits; the promotion of slow values; Internet non-use; and the undesign of Internet services.
AB - Internet connectivity is seamlessly integrated into many of our everyday habits and activities. Despite this, previous research has highlighted that our rather excessive Internet use is not sustainable or even always socially beneficial. In this paper, we carried out an exploratory study on how Internet disconnection affects our everyday lives and whether such disconnection is even possible in today’s society. Through daily surveys, we captured what Internet use means for ten participants and how this varies when they are asked to disconnect by default, and re-connect only when their Internet use is deemed as necessary. From our study, we found that our participants could disconnect from the Internet for certain activities (particularly leisure focused), yet they developed adaptations in their lives to address the necessity of their Internet use. We elicit these adaptations into five themes that encompass how the participants did, or did not, use the Internet based on their necessities. Drawing on these five themes, we conclude with ways in which our study can inspire future research surrounding: Internet infrastructure limits; the promotion of slow values; Internet non-use; and the undesign of Internet services.
KW - sustainability
KW - everyday life
KW - reduced Internet connectivity
KW - limits
KW - slow values
KW - non-use
KW - undesign
U2 - 10.29007/s221
DO - 10.29007/s221
M3 - Conference contribution/Paper
T3 - EPiC Series in Computing
SP - 384
EP - 397
BT - ICT4S2018. 5th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology for Sustainability
A2 - Penzenstadler, Birgit
A2 - Easterbrook, Steve
A2 - Venters, Colin
A2 - Ahmed, Syed Istiaque
Y2 - 14 May 2018 through 18 May 2018
ER -