Adam Little @ CIID

Logging calls and texts durings Friday night's experiment

Shown here is a short video recorded on Friday night when I conducted a small experiment involving my classmates, their mobile phones, and a party we attended.

This is the email I sent that afternoon before making the video:

Dear Party People,

Are you planning on going to the house warming party at
Skabelonloftet? If so, can you all help me with an
experiment for my final project?

What I have in mind is a small game with two very simple
rules:

1. You can not call or text anyone on this email list except
for me

2. You can not receive any calls or texts from anyone on
this email list except for me

I will act as an “operator” by keeping track of everyone’s
dispatches. You can call or text me to leave an update
about yourself, or to inquire about the latest update from
a particular person.

See you at the party tonight (i hope)!
Adam

There was no real objective for doing this other than seeing how the evening would be different when friends could not as easily contact each other. In the end, it really was not any different at all except for maybe people putting in a little more thought about where & when to meet. What was interesting though was that a few people broke the rules which they originally accepted from me. For example, Mimi got on a wrong bus which she perceived as a “little emergency” and felt the need to inform Nina immediately. Meanwhile, Magnus arrived at the party earlier than everyone else and out of discomfort (or boredom) decided to call people directly to urge them to hurry up.

It was also interesting being the hub for everyone, which made me realize just how much back-and-forth communication goes into something like meeting at a party. Keep reading for a transcription of all the SMS and calls I received…