The roles of time, place, value and relationships in collocated photo sharing with camera phones

Abstract

Photo sharing on camera phones is becoming a common way to maintain closeness and relationships with friends and family. How people share their photos in collocated settings using camera phones, with whom they share, and what factors influence their sharing experience were the themes explored in this study. Results showed that people exhibit different photo sharing behaviour depending on who they share photos with, where the sharing takes place and what value a picture represents to its owner. In this paper, we will explain what triggers the photo sharing activity and how the sharing takes place depending on who photos are shared with and where they are shared (e.g. restaurant, pub, home). The sharing experience is hindered by the difficulty of controlling which photographs are made available to particular people; sharing with a group of people at once; and ensuring appropriate privacy measures. These findings highlight requirements for novel mechanisms for organising, sharing, and displaying photos as well as provide a better understanding of photo sharing behaviour using camera phones in collocated settings.