Haley White

MEJO 379
Ethnography Assignment
October 24, 2017

Insight 1: Avoiding Interaction

I conducted the ethnographic study at a coffee shop within the Miller Learning Center at
the University of Georgia in order to determine how cell phones are used among different groups
of people and how those uses influence behavioral patterns. To paint the setting, the ordering
counter is to the left of a studying area that is filled with tables, chairs and booths. There is also a
hallway that runs parallel to the coffee shop and study area. During the 75 minutes allotted to
observe, several subjects demonstrated that they would rather avoid interaction by using their
cell phones instead of engaging with another individual.
I want to walk you through a few examples of students using their cell phones as a means
to avoid interaction. Almost instantly, I witnessed a female student walking down the hallway
while a male student walked toward her from the other end of the hallway. As soon as the two
individuals noticed each other, they both looked down at their cell phones and walked past each
other without any acknowledgment. As soon as they had passed one another, the female subject
looked up from her phone and kept walking. The male subject looked down at his phone for a
few seconds longer and the proceeded to stash the phone in his pocket. It was as if they said to
themselves, a person is coming! I must look away! Soon after, there was a subject who
purposely avoided contact with another student she knew. While subject one stood in line
waiting to give her order to the barista, the second subject walked toward the line. When subject
one noticed subject two, she immediately looked down at her phone and began typing or did
something that resembled the typing action. It did not appear that subject two noticed that her
peer was in line. Regardless, subject two did not do anything to interact with her. This action was
indicative that subject one did not want to talk to or make eye contact with subject two. Instead,
she used her cell phone to hide from interaction. My final example occurred when two students
were walking down the hallway toward each other while looking down at their phones. After a
mild collision, subject one looked up to apologize and proceeded to continue walking while
subject two looked up from her phone for a split second, looked back down at her phone and
continued walking down the hallway.
One can infer from the data presented that individuals would rather be on their cell
phones than interact with others around them. During my observation period, I was presented
with different three reasons for avoiding interaction: subjects not liking walking down a hallway
while someone else is walking toward them; subjects who know one another wanting to look
away and avoid engagement; and finally, just simply not wanting human interaction. The two
subjects who mutually avoided any interaction demonstrated that the use of cell phones is a way
in which people avoid interaction by looking unavailable. They also reveal that individuals who
do not know each other would rather avoid interaction than make any contact, whether it be a
simple hello or a head nod, or just making eye contact. This example of interaction avoidance
both contradicts and complements the example of an individual choosing to avoid someone she
knew. This observation contradicts the first in that the first interaction or lack thereof was
between two strangers, whereas the second example occurred between two friends. However,
this observation complements the first because we still see evidence that individuals prefer a lack
of engagement. We must beg the question, why would one choose to avoid engagement with a
friend? It may be because they were recently in a fight and subject one did not want to be seen;
or it may be because subject one simply did not want to interact with that friend at that particular
time on that particular day. Here, we see a fault of the ethnographic study in which there are
specific questions that cannot be answered with observations alone. However, it reveals how
easy it is to simply use your phone to dodge socialization. Lastly, I witnessed a subject who
would simply wanted to avoid human interaction. In the previous two observations, an
interaction could be avoided by use of a cell phone. Whereas, in this third instance, the collision
forced interaction. Still, one subject refused to engage with the subject she collided with. One
can infer that this means, even when people are forced to interact in some way shape or form,
individuals would rather choose to avoid further engagement.

Insight 2: Appearing Busy, Not Awkward

When in a public setting, individuals use their cell phones to avoid awkwardness by
appearing busy.
This insight came from a series of similar observations where students would use their
cell phones instead of just sitting or standing around to wait or eat. For example, there were over
20 instances where a subject would stand in line while looking down at their cell phone, would
order from the barista, and then would proceed to look back down at their cell phone while
waiting on their order. I also noticed a correlation between eating and wanting to appear busy.
For instance, a subject ordered her food at the coffee shop, and took it back to her seat where her
work and laptop remained spread out on her table. Once she sat down, she moved her computer
and notes out of the way and placed her food on the table. She then pulled her phone out of her
backpack and began using it while eating. It did not look as though she was interacting with
someone directly on her cell phone, but was instead using it to look through social media,
messages or something that she had missed while studying. After eating her food, she put her
phone back into her backpack and began studying again.
Based on the qualitative data presented, one can infer that people would rather be on their
cell phones and portray busyness to feel comfortable in a public setting instead of feeling a sense
of awkwardness by not appearing engaged in something. This insight answers the question: why
would individuals rather appear busy on their cell phones than simply stand around or sit while
doing nothing? I predict that an individuals need to feel at ease in a situation stems from the idea
that people are more concerned about outside forces rather than personal satisfaction. In other
words, humans are more worried about how others view them individually in a public setting
than how they view themselves. While observing the individuals who were on their phones while
waiting for their orders, I noticed that most of them never looked up for anything other than their
name being called to pick up their order. They stayed on their phone while waiting for their food
because the alternative would have been simply standing around waiting without focusing their
attention on anything other than waiting. The sense of feeling uncomfortable or awkward while
being alone in public drives this pattern of behavior, where individuals would rather that other
people think they are busy instead of feeling they are being judged for standing around, staring
into space while waiting on their order. Meanwhile, I suspect that the subject who decided to use
her cell phone while eating did so because she did not want to be viewed as awkward or weird
for eating alone. So, she made herself look like she did not need to be accompanied while eating
by using her cell phone to look busy. To her, there must be a sense of consciousness while eating
alone, and appearing busy makes her feel more comfortable in a public setting. Based on her
actions, as well as other instances that are similar to hers, one can conclude that humans worry
about the way others think of them. The appearance of busyness is self-satisfying in the sense
that people are alright or more comfortable with being alone as long as they portray themselves
as busy.
Though unrelated to the specific topic, this insight is very similar to an insight from the
focus group assignment, fake portrayal of athleticism, where individuals want to appear
athletic based on their clothing choice. This idea of importance of appearance seems to be a
trending factor in the age group that I am collecting data from, which is the millennial
generation. Ones need to be viewed as something by outside forces and individuals is a
motivationally and emotionally driven insight, making it a rich and interesting tendency that I
would like to dive further into in future qualitative studies.
Insights one and two of this assignment overlap a bit in terms of their ability to be applied
to my objective: to gain data on the overuse of cell phones and how it influences behavioral
patterns of individuals in public settings. Both insights allowed me to further discern what
specific behavior was present while individuals were on their phones and to understand why that
specific behavior occurred. Insight one also somewhat resembles insight two on the basis that
people appear busy in order to avoid interaction. However, insight two focuses much more on
how one wants to be perceived in a public setting while insight one is based on the idea that
people want to be left alone.

Analysis of Ethnographies
In conducting an ethnographic study for Under Armour, I hope to gain insight on the
difference between individuals and groups dynamics as its relates to a persons or groups
athletic-wear choice in a gym setting. Here, I will walk you through the specific variables I have
chosen to do so.
I chose to conduct my Under Armour ethnographic study in a gym because it is a prime
location for observing behaviors and how those behaviors may or may not relate to the way in
which one dresses while working out. The goal is not only to see what people are wearing, but to
observe how those clothes fit into the dynamics of their workout. I would hope that these factors
would provide me insights on how they imply a certain group dynamic or branding dynamic. In
terms of timing, I would conduct my ethnographic study during gym primetimes. More
specifically, I would choose to observe between the hours of 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. or from 4 p.m. to
7 p.m. I would also go to the gym on a Monday when people are ready to get a healthy start to
their week. I chose to conduct the study in the month of March because people are beginning to
get ready for their spring and summer clothing. With the higher volume of subjects as a result of
the time of the day, week and year, I would hope to find more patterns between a larger variance
of groups.
While in the gym, I would want to look at the relationship between the specific clothing
and brand choices, and the different characteristics of the subjects. For instance, how much
variance is there between individuals and groups in terms of clothing and brand choice? What is
the relationship between the clothing or brand and everything else in their workout lifestyle?
Will groups be branded-out and dress as a group in one brand, or will they all be wearing
different brands of clothing? How are they interacting with other individuals in the gym and are
those interactions related to their clothing choices? I predict that, based on my previous insights
such as Seriously Focused, even when people are in groups, there will be a difference in brand
and outfit choice based on the type of athlete or gym-goer a person is. If they take the process of
working out more seriously and fit the description of a true athlete, I suspect that they will be
wearing athletic-wear such as dry-fit shirts, workout shorts or running leggings, and running
sneakers. If a subject is not dressed as such, then are they wearing athleisure in the context of
other behaviors, and how are they wearing athleisure? I also predict that those who do moderate
workouts or those who do not take gym time as seriously will be dressed in athleisure clothing as
a way to model a Fake Portrayal of Athleticism, as I previously determined during the focus
group assignment. It is also important that I examine group dynamics in order to obtain as much
insight regarding ones outfit choice as possible. Based on what I know from previous
assignments, the circumstance of individualism versus being in a group has a huge impact on the
way a person thinks, acts and dresses. I hypothesize that those in groups will be dressed similarly
to each other, if not wearing identical brands head to toe while individuals may follow patterns
based on what they have witnessed other wear in the past.