Like Guardian Angels: Continuous Location-Sharing and the Production of Safety Among US College Students

Abstract Apps like Life 360 and Apple’s Find My have made continuous map-based location-sharing common and convenient. Yet, knowledge of how location-sharing is used in day-to-day life remains limited – especially in relation to young adults. Through a combination of interviews with participants and the deployment of daily mini-questionnaires among college-aged users (i. e. 18-22, $$n=15$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>n</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>15</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> ) in the New York City area, we identify and present three salient aspects of location-sharing practices: (i) orchestration of social activities; (ii) management of social membership; and (iii) production of a “sense” of safety for oneself and others. Our findings point to new social norms emerging in relation to the proliferation of location-sharing apps among New York college students. We discuss such new norms through the lenses of self-disclosure, privacy, and trust-building. Our research scaffolds a more holistic understanding of location-sharing practices among a generation of digital natives and, in return, provides insights into future of designs of location-based technology.