Playing with IT: ethnographic Research on the Technological Practices of Young Professionals

Recently some Information Systems researchers have suggested that the younger generation engage with information technologies in a different way from the older generation. To gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, we have been conducting ethnographic research on the technological practices of young professionals within an organizational context. Our initial findings suggest that young people become engrossed in information technology in their everyday practices. We describe this engrossment in everyday phenomena as play, using the interpretive concept of ‘play’ as developed by Erving Goffman and expanded by Clifford Geertz. Our study aims to contribute towards theorizing of the everyday practices of young people’s engagement with IT.