Citation

Asokan A. Ethnograp. Praxis Indust. Conf. Proc. 2008; 2008(1): 175-191.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1559-8918.2008.tb00104.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Starting from their interactions within shared spaces and use of shared objects, to large social networks, the Indian society has developed a range of ways to incorporate subtle gestures and systems into their lives that neither forces them to share all their time and space with everyone, nor isolates them completely. This paper explores this idea that privacy is not always mutually exclusive from shared states. In the process, it highlights quality of time and space as a construct of subtle negotiations between the socially structured and personally desired. These subtleties allow Indians to design their lives around extensive grey spaces that exist in between the community and individual. This suggests some new ways for us to think about meaning of privacy, and its impact on how people in countries like India navigate complex social networks, cultural systems, and rigid social hierarchies, very often using technologies like phones and TVs.