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The Domestication of Mobile Technologies in the Home Kitchen

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The Domestication of Mobile Technologies in the Home Kitchen The Medium is The Menu: The Domestication of Mobile Technologies in the Home Kitchen by Daylin John Breen Submitted to the Faculty of Extension University of Alberta In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communications and Technology 2012 THE MEDIUM IS THE MENU 1 Acknowledgements To Erika, Maya, and Rowan—you are my inspiration, sustenance, and support. and to Dr. Gordon Gow for your guidance, patience, and insight. THE MEDIUM IS THE MENU 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Deskilling: The Atrophy of Cooking Skills ............................................................................................... 6 Deskilling: The Cost to Our Health .......................................................................................................... 8 Theoretical Approach ............................................................................................................................... 10 Meta Theory: Social Constructionist Worldview ................................................................................... 10 Phenomenological Lens .......................................................................................................................... 11 Literature Review ..................................................................................................................................... 14 Deskilling and Cookbooks ...................................................................................................................... 14 Domestication Theory: Everyday Life and the Household ..................................................................... 14 Home and Everyday Life ........................................................................................................................ 16 Technology Artifacts in Daily Life .......................................................................................................... 17 Gaps in The Literature ........................................................................................................................... 19 Methodology .............................................................................................................................................. 20 Research Questions ................................................................................................................................ 20 Field Observation and Interviews .......................................................................................................... 20 Participant Observation ......................................................................................................................... 22 Semi-structured Interview ....................................................................................................................... 23 Analysis ................................................................................................................................................... 25 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................... 27 Trust: The Dominant Emergent Theme .................................................................................................. 29 Finding: Palate Reeducation and Rejection of Standardization Through Discovery ............................ 31 Retrieval: Where Did I Put That Recipe? ............................................................................................... 34 Skill Development Through Tips and Tricks: Bite Sized Confidence Builders ...................................... 35 Sharing: De-Professionalizing Through Peers-to-Peer Sharing ........................................................... 36 Collecting: The Emergence of Food Photo Snaps .................................................................................. 40 Video: Tugging at The Virtual Apron Strings ........................................................................................ 42 There’s an App for That: Or is There? ................................................................................................... 45 Have Mobile Communication Devices Reskilled Users In The Domestic Kitchen? .............................. 46 Have Mobile Communication Devices Influenced Healthier Eating? ................................................... 49 Phenomenology and the Devices ............................................................................................................ 50 Constraints and Limitations ................................................................................................................... 53 Future Research ...................................................................................................................................... 53 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 55 References .................................................................................................................................................. 59 Appendix A: Requirements of Volunteer Subjects ................................................................................ 67 Appendix B: Interview Guide .................................................................................................................. 68 Appendix C: Participant Consent Form ................................................................................................. 69 Appendix D: Interview Coding ................................................................................................................ 71 THE MEDIUM IS THE MENU 3 Abstract The study looked at how people are using mobile communication devices in the domestic kitchen? How users have domesticated these devices? And in what ways have these devices been used to (re)skill users in the domestic kitchen? We now live in a society where we do not have to know how to cook to live (our survival does not depend on our cooking abilities). However, there is a cost to our health and our quality of life as evidenced by the current obesity epidemic. Grounded in phenomenology, the study used a convenience sample of seven participants in semi-structured interviews and domestic kitchen tours. Inspired by the work of Bakardjieva, the study relied on domestication theory to illuminate behaviour genres (or ways of doing) to help understand common user behaviours in the home meal planning process. This framework combined with research on deskilling helped illuminate the research questions about (re)skilling in the kitchen. Five behaviour genres emerged from the participant interviews: finding, retrieval, skill development, sharing, and collecting—each with possible applications to help reskill consumers in meal preparation. THE MEDIUM IS THE MENU 4 We must more than ever see to our own fate, by deeply an even caringly looking after our own technologically textured world. (Ihde, 1993, p. 163) Introduction Has the presence of mobile communication devices in the practice of cooking changed the cultural syntax of our meals? Cooking is as universal to the human race as language, and it follows that recipes are the cultural syntax of food (Douglas, 1972; Lévi-Strauss, 1966/2008; Mead, 1943/2008). Mead (1943/1997) observed that the cooking practices of a society unconsciously communicate its structure and reveal its contradictions—a point echoed by Lévi- Strauss, (1966/2008). Visser (1986) suggests, “A meal is an artistic social construct” and further relates it to a play of the syntax and flow of language (p. 13). And Douglas (1972) suggests, “the taking of food as a social component, as well as a biological one” (p. 61). This study looks at how mobile communication devices (smart phones, for example) have been appropriated and incorporated by their users and what influence these devices have had on the way they experience and approach meal preparation (planning, shopping, and cooking) in the home. The study took an exploratory ethnographic approach—gathering data through semi- structured interviews and guided tours of refrigerator, kitchen, and mobile device/applications in the contexts of planning, shopping and preparation of meals in the home. The study draws upon the theoretical perspective offered by domestication theory. Domestication theory, with its roots in phenomenology, offers an approach that looks at how technology is domesticated or tamed in the context of the home and everyday life. The theory is focused on the user and their integration of technology in their every day environment. It is also a theory that embraces the co-creation THE MEDIUM IS THE MENU 5 and social shaping of technology—it eschews the deterministic view of technology and respects the role of the user. The seed for this project was planted
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