Cornell University: Heavy Foursquare users interact differently with public spaces

In many ways, technology is excavating traditional public spaces. Mobile phones allow us to make calls and send emails while walking, which used to happen in private. Technologies such as WiFi have turned public spaces into open cubes, and personalized maps are becoming a tool for millions of people to personalize their street view.

The problem with all this is that the chance encounters and opportunities to meet strangers that public places created for us in the past are becoming less and less. But location services like Foursquare, on the other hand, have created opportunities for us to make friends from online to offline.

In a paper titled “Foursquare and the Parochialization of Public Space,” researchers at Cornell University conducted in-depth interviews with 18 Foursqare users in 10 cities and concluded that services like Foursquare are influencing our perception of public space.

The study found that Foursquare successfully influenced these deep users to have a high level of awareness of the people around them in public places and a high level of connectivity to these places.

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

A man who met his girlfriend at the gym: "I just sent her a friend request. I often do this to people at the gym. I also add people from other places, but I don't have the intention of making friends. She accepted my friend request. She accepted it because I have mayor badges from many places."

Several others said they look up people who frequently check in at the same locations, or who become mayors, and try to get to know them offline.

Technology’s impact on public space can be good or bad, but while it takes us out of public space, it can also allow us to better participate in it.