How does ICT use fit into social practice?

Using ICTs is often a highly social activity: Despite the previous conclusion that ICTs are often used to keep in contact with geographically distant others and the oft mentioned idea that these technologies might separate geographically proximate others through their screens, I observed a high level of shared usage of ICTs in the town. However, it should be noted that most of these observations took place outside the home or on scheduled home visits and thus I would not have expected to encounter individuals engaged in long periods of time spent at home on ICTs. These do clearly exist, as, for instance, one middle school student noted that he frequently found himself staying up late playing on his mobile phone. However, he also spoke about going to a friend's house regularly to play games side-by-side on their phones.

In observing ICT use in the town, I often saw friends and families gathered around a screen to view photos, watch videos or help others navigate their devices. In this photo a four-year-old girl has called over a woman who works in the same restaurant as her mother to help her answer the questions posed by the learning game on her study computer. It is tempting to think that ICT use will create distance between physically proximate others, but it also appears to provide many opportunities to create shared memories and experiences, aiding communications with others and building connections based on shared media consumption.