The existence of smartphones has certainly transformed the way individuals interact with each other in everyday life. This transformation is also evident in face encounters in public space where participants co-exist and interact with their mobile devices while they communicate with others. In this new social environment that intersects with the digital ecology that individuals belong to result in new patterns of behaviour that also change the nature of face encounters today. This study aims at exploring how WhatsApp, as the mostly used mobile instant messaging platform impact the way people interact with each other and how the social rules of conduct are constructed in the existence of continuous flows of information and content leaking into face encounters. The data was obtained from semi-structured in-depth interviews with 25 undergraduate students in Türkiye. The results showed that WhatsApp messages are irresistible during social gatherings, which has led to a new set of social rules of conduct, a new working consensus among interactants in everyday life.
Tüge T. Gülşen (Thu,) studied this question.