The internet has increasingly become a part of our daily practices, and previous research has pointed to the numerous different ways individuals and groups use and integrate the internet into their lives. Yet, despite the pervasiveness of the internet within the home, few have investigated internet domestication. To grasp the process of internet domestication, my research uses a Social Shaping of Technology approach to investigate how internet domestication develops as a set of contextual practices within households of East York, Ontario.
My research is part of the Connected Lives Project that took place in East York, Ontario between 2004 and 2005. Using a combination of survey data, semi-structured interviews and digital photos, I offer a novel combination of methods not implemented in previous research of the household internet that provides a rich and descriptive illustration of household internet practices. This dissertation research is the first case study of the household internet that offers an in-depth portrayal and interpretation of its domestication. It is an empirical demonstration of the complicated patterns through which the internet is domesticated. My research builds upon previous quantitative and qualitative internet research, and contributes to the clear epistemological gap in what we know about internet domestication as a dynamic process. How does the domestication of the internet develop as a set of contextual practices?
My investigation draws attention to the kinds of things that shape the everyday - paid work, immigrant status, household structure, and gender roles. Each of these act as threads - different practices - that weave together to shape how the internet is used and integrated as a domestic technology into today's households and families. I characterize the social worlds shaping internet domestication, and discuss how households and families actively shape internet domestication through examining internet communication and information seeking patterns, and address concerns that family is in decline. My research provides new and different ways of thinking about family, family time, and our relationship with the household internet by discussing the time families spend together online, and how family's household spaces are evolving in response to the ubiquitous internet.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/31802 |
| Date | 10 January 2012 |
| Creators | Kennedy, Tracy Lee Musing |
| Contributors | Wellman, Barry |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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