Choosing Whether to Use Mobile Technology Outdoors
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Background Literature
2.1. Travel and Work
2.2. Flow in an Outdoor Space
2.3. Risk and Safety
2.4. Self-Discovery
2.5. Meaningful Learning
2.6. Reflection
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Conceptual Framework
3.1.1. Ontology and Epistemology
3.1.2. Researcher Stance
3.2. Research Design
Participants
3.3. Method
3.3.1. Interviews
3.3.2. Transcription
3.3.3. Data Analysis
3.3.4. Trustworthiness
4. Findings
4.1. Valuing Relationships
4.1.1. Relationships with Nature, Not Technology (Leave It Behind)
I still will carry like a map or a book or whatever that tells me what the trail is and what the elevations is, and whatever, and yeah, like a topo map, yeah, and to try to check how far I’ve come and what’s coming next. I’m sure there’s probably better apps for that on your phone, but I’ve never been motivated to look, I don’t know why, I guess partly because I still always just assume that there’s not going to be reception, cell phone reception, you know there probably is more places now that there used to be, but I still just use the map instead.
Doing stuff outside is about being in touch with the outside, and if you’re texting, or like it bothers me when I do have my phone to take pictures or something and I start getting text messages I kind of get annoyed, like—don’t bother me right now!
I think for some people their mobile technology is the thing that propels them to exercise or to get outside or whatever because they have those apps that tell them how many calories they’re burning and blah, blah, blah, and that’s the motivator for them, and so for me it’s not. I’m not interested in them [apps]. I don’t care, for me it’s the experience of being outside.
You know, part of it too is just allowing yourself to enjoy what’s out here, you know, I think we’re often too, we’re just, I don’t know, we’re just so trapped in our modern world of having to be plugged into our stuff that we don’t, we don’t take a moment to just appreciate everything that’s actually in the natural world.
Sometimes when I run I have a running partner and she does the Track My Run thing, and it can be so distracting because you’re so focused on getting that Track My Run thing going, and set up, and if you stop running and it resets and all this kind of stuff, and so you’re fooling with it the whole time, you can hear her getting frustrated rather than enjoying the experience of running and the experience of being outside and running, right?
4.1.2. Relationships with Those Elsewhere (Bring It Along, Use, and Share)
Yesterday was beautiful here because the snow was still piled up on the trees and yeah, I did bring my camera, and the conditions yesterday were so good. And so, I was up early enough that I thought, oh I should let other people know that conditions are great, so yeah, you want to take a good shot to entice people, right? So I was coming down, I was coming to the loop, it is a great shot for a pictures because this one tree was like framing, the branches, were like framing, it was like snow, and you can see the trail between the frame of the branches and so I started to take a picture there but it was a serious slope, right, it was a serious slope, so I’m going like this [leans far over] and trying to get the picture. Laughs, and falling over, my camera’s in the snow! So, I thought, all for a picture, I don’t know if it was worth it, man! Laughs. Yeah, I posted it yesterday on Facebook.
So, I put [outdoor pictures] on Facebook and I’m like, hey all my friends, look! Back home, look at the cool stuff here! Where I didn’t do it quite as much at home because it was so familiar to me after so long, you know, and everybody there was like, oh yeah, okay, so what, so you’re hiking in the woods again, wasn’t any big deal, but now I’m like, oh I’m snowshoeing, look, I’m skiing!
You know, I haven’t used Go Pro, but I occasionally do this crazy thing [pulls camera out of her pocket, holds it, puts skis in the other hand]. This is kind of crazy and kind of dumb, but here, so you know, the video function on this camera, so I’ll turn on the video recorder and I’ll just like put my poles in one hand and I hold this and I ski down the hill and I hold this in my hand, which it’s kind of crazy, I wouldn’t do it in icy conditions, only on primo conditions days, but I’ve done it a couple times, especially for my friends who don’t ski, well you know, because like, you know, it’s kind of like you’re in the moment when somebody’s taking that video and you watch it, you’re in the moment, and they say, ‘oh that does look like fun’.
4.1.3. Relationships with Those Present (Use It to Learn but Prioritize Relationships)
I like to be outside, it’s a lot of fun, but I like to talk about it with other people, or I go with my dad and he’s from the Ozarks and we talk about that, or a friend of mine, he studied wildlife biology, birds in particular, so it’s always kind of fun to go with him and he’ll say, oh there’s this or that, or whatever, so what is this? But it’s nice to have technology because I can say, let me Google that, and that’s nice.
4.2. Reducing Risk and Signaling Strength
4.2.1. Security (Necessary to Bring It Along)
We were just not into it, neither of us wanted to admit it but finally I just called it. I’m like okay, this is crazy because we are supposed to go for another night and we were just not into it, and so we got to a spot where there was reception, and I called my friend, and we told her where the next road crossing was and asked her to come get us.
4.2.2. Reduce Risk (Bring It Along)
I look for places I can walk, you know, trails, and I bring my camera, and I take 20 or 30 pictures of leaves and flowers. And so we were in Boston a week ago, and the daffodils are blooming, the bulbs, so I have pictures of the outdoors, but I don’t do that here …if I’m traveling, I’m more nervous about where I am, so I need that phone just in case anything were to happen whereas when I’m here and I feel safe, I don’t need anything, so no technology.
4.3. Working—The Electronic Leash
4.3.1. Integrating Work with Nature (Bring It Along and Bring Nature Back to Work)
I do end up taking a lot of pictures of outside. I use it as my screensaver at work, it kind of helps me to look at the outdoors pictures, you know, five minutes of inactivity and the screensaver kicks in, it helps me to look at the outdoors pictures and all of the pictures of outdoor adventures and it’s a good reminder of, you know, of where I would rather be in good times, when I’m feeling chained to my desk.
4.3.2. Disconnecting from Mobile Technologies (Leave It Behind)
He has the kind of job where he has to check his email, it drives him crazy, because I’ll be talking to him and he has to check his email all the time for his job, and I’m like, I’m going to take that phone and bury it!
We went on a cruise this summer and it was great, because there was no cell service at all, it was great, he was so happy, because freedom! He fixes stuff, he’s maintenance, so he’s always has to be in contact, they call him constantly, so it’s a constant irritant for him and he is super stressed out because people are trying to get a hold of him…I mean, it was a wonderful time [without cell service], so it was fantastic, and he was very happy, and you could see, when we came into port and we could get back in touch, and you could see the stress come over his face.
I don’t want to have technology with me, because I feel like it’s a leash to bring mobile technology, it’s just, you know, my day-to-day existence, and work, and commitments, and when I come outside to get away from it all, that includes getting away from my leash, you know, the electronic leash.
5. Discussion and Conclusions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
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Kilty, T.J. Choosing Whether to Use Mobile Technology Outdoors. Educ. Sci. 2024, 14, 992. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14090992
Kilty TJ. Choosing Whether to Use Mobile Technology Outdoors. Education Sciences. 2024; 14(9):992. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14090992
Chicago/Turabian StyleKilty, Trina J. 2024. "Choosing Whether to Use Mobile Technology Outdoors" Education Sciences 14, no. 9: 992. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14090992