Papers by Satomi Sugiyama
Drawing from the results of focus group interviews conducted between 2006 and 2010 in Japan, this... more Drawing from the results of focus group interviews conducted between 2006 and 2010 in Japan, this paper examines the functions of emoji. Now that emoji have gained global recognition as seen in mobile applications, examining the way Japanese teens use emoji offers some insight into the way emoji use is practiced among teens in the global cultural context. The results highlight two functions of emoji in the context of mobile interactions: emoji allow Japanese teens to manage communication climate as well as to construct and express their aesthetic selves. Further research is needed to investigate to what extent these interaction norms, symbolic meanings, and electronic emotions are applicable to various cultural contexts in the era of smart phones. Such efforts will promote our further understanding of both current and future trends of teens’ mobile emoji use, emotional experiences, sense of the self, and relational concerns.
Past research suggests that the mobile device can be experienced as a relational artefact, and al... more Past research suggests that the mobile device can be experienced as a relational artefact, and also, as a technology for cyborgization, questioning the boundary between the mobile device and humans. This paper examines the question in the context of Japanese young people. More specifically, the present study seeks to identify various patterns of the way people make sense of their mobile device in Japan, suggesting some possible future research questions where the notion of social robots, mobile device, and emotions intersect. Based on the results of focus group interviews conducted in 2010, the paper explicates how humans start blurring the distinction between their relational partners and the mobile device that affords the sense of perpetual contact. This is indicative of how a mobile device has gone through the process of anthropomorphization, turning into a quasi-social robot. Furthermore, the paper discusses how some experience their own mobile device as a part of their body. This suggests how a mobile device is perceptually incorporated into the body, turning humans into quasi-social robots. Connecting the results to the notion of electronic emotions, the paper conceptualizes the idea of quasi-social robot as a metaphor that conveys the extent to which humans are now equipped with advanced technologies, making us more powerful but also simultaneously more vulnerable. It concludes that the heightened complexity in the relational dynamics, and the emotions that are triggered and exchanged deserve further investigation to see how their emotional experiences are changing. Such future research promises to foster our understanding of the transcending boundary between humans and the mobile communication device, informing the question of social robots and emotion.
Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2005
This chapter explores public mobile communication technology as front-stage and back-stage phenom... more This chapter explores public mobile communication technology as front-stage and back-stage phenomena. We explore the design aesthetics of the mobile phone from the standpoint of its commercial origins and public re-interpretation, emphasizing fashion and identity in the ...
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Papers by Satomi Sugiyama