Lee Humphreys Professional Work
Homepage Professional CV
Bio Photos
Research Interests:
I am interested in the social uses
and effects of technology. In my research I study how people use new
communication technology in social interaction. Some past research projects
have explored the social norms of cellphone use in public spaces, the use of
digital photos on online dating sites, and the role of technology in singles
bars. I am also interested in the use of technology in new methodological
approaches such as the use of digital photography in fieldwork and computerized
textual analysis. I co-edited a book with Dr. Paul Messaris that explores the
various ways that digital media are changing human communication (Peter Lang,
2006). See my CV
for a more complete list of my research projects and papers.
Dissertation
Mobile Sociality and Spatial
Practice: A qualitative fieldstudy of new social networking technologies
My dissertation explores mobile
social interaction. Through participant observation, field observations, and
interviews, I examined three commercial applications for mobile phones in order
to compare and contrast social interactions. Three over-arching questions
guided this project. First, how might mobile social software applications help
to make connections between people in urban public spaces? Second, what is the
nature of interactions that develop around mobile social software (i.e. who is
using it and what kinds of information are exchanged through this software)?
Third, how might these interactions change the way users experience urban
public spaces? (Click
here to download a pdf of my dissertation).