Cafe Culture in France and the United States: A Comparative Ethnographic Study of the Use of Mobile Information and Communication Technologies

Abstract

Mobile (or personal) information and communication technologies are changing our communication opportunities and expectations and altering the nature of communication in public places. This study explored the uses and implications of these technologies through participant observation and interviews in cafes, public places at the heart of communities where people gather for beverages, food, and company, as well as for other activities. Cafes were ideal research contexts because (a) they provide convenient and acceptable entree into communities of place; (b) they serve important social, psychological, and economic functions; and (c) many are sites of a nexus of face-to-face and mediated interactions. Findings indicated that many people in American cafes routinely background their face-to-face experiences as they focus on electronic space rather than on physical space. In contrast, mobile information and communication technologies are generally not impacting people's experiences of physical space in cafes in Paris. Cross-cultural differences in the usage of mobile information and communication technologies in "third places" are explored.