Me and my mobile [starter activity]

This is an introductory discussion. This is designed as a very short activity, to facilitate participants' thinking about how they are using their mobiles in intimate ways and to begin to share practices and concerns around surveillance and privacy related to these.

We recommend doing this at the start of a workshop about mobile safety.

Learning objectives this activity responds to

• an understanding of how mobile access and communications are gendered and intimate.

Who is this activity for?

This can work for anyone who uses a mobile phone or has used one.

Time required

This activity will require about 30 minutes.

Resources needed for this activity

• white board or chart paper (if the facilitator chooses to write during the shareback)

Mechanics

Pair discussions - 15 minutes

In pairs to facilitate personal sharing. Ask one partner to share first and the other to listen. Then prompt partners to swap listening and speaking roles. Each person should have about 5-7 minutes to speak. This will depend on how long it takes for pairs to form.

Question 1: What are the most personal and private things you do on your mobile phone?

Question 2: What do you do to take care of these interactions, media, these experiences?

Facilitator, give an example or two of what you would share in a pair. For example, nudes that you are taking for your own pleasure and expression of self, sexting or intimate conversations you are having with others.

Intersectionality Flag: How is mobile access and privacy varying among participants based on their gender, sexuality, race, class, disability?

Full group shareback - 15 minutes

Facilitator make notes and synthesize. Ask people to share what they spoke about. Draw out common threads from the conversation. How are people using their phones and in what ways are these uses intimate? How have participants shared that their gender relates to their access to mobile phones, to their privacy? What are people doing to care for their intimate interactions and mobile media? What are people concerned about and how are they relating privacy and gender, sexuality, race, class, disability, age, etc?