Experiencing Smartglasses in Everyday Life: An Empirical Study Based on Grounded Theory

• In Event: Use of Mobile Services in Different Contexts (High-Density)

Abstract

This paper examines the private use of smartglasses in an early moment of diffusion and how such wearables are possibly embedded into everyday life. Existing empirical research as well as theory on the adoption and/or appropriation of mobile communication devices are only partly applicable due to distinctive challenges like new legal and privacy issues.
The qualitative methodology of grounded theory was selected to understand on the basis of interviews with in total 42 participants used functions, changes in visual perception, communication patterns, and the overall experience of this kind of human-computer interaction. A quantitative media diary was asked to be kept in parallel.
Based on the results, a “grounded theory” was derived for the situational use of smartglasses and its specific key influencers. It underlines that its use is diverging from smartphones not only by additional modes of interaction with the technology but also in what it means to users.

Authors

• Joachim Robert Hoeflich, U of Erfurt

• Tim Kessler, University of Erfurt

• Castulus Kolo, Macromedia University of Applied Sciences