Smartphone Moves: How Changes in Embodied Configuration with One’s Smartphone Adjust Conversational Engagement

Smartphones are often spontaneously used for personal purposes and during face-to-face gatherings. New terms like “phubbing” “technoference” describe negative consequences of this behavior, but analysis the actual everyday social situations where smartphones feature has largely been neglected. This article shows how simultaneous smartphone conversational engagements shaped by participants’ embodied conduct. A naturally occurring three-party conversation in a Finnish café is analyzed detail to show changes user–smartphone configuration impact ongoing conversation. User–smartphone consists smartphone’s location, its physical relation user’s hands, screen direction head. User-smartphone can manifest change an interactive footing conversation, function as turn-holding device, organize state. methods concepts studying use introduced. “Smartphone positions” refers configurations that oriented manifestations degrees user–device engagement. moves” positions, they carry sequential relevance. Increased engagement seen decreased vice versa. Making resources available one manifests accountable event disengagement from another. Engagement argued be continuum rather than contrast pair.