Abstract
In these last few years, the role of smartphones in the everyday lives of young people has become a widely-debated issue. This technological device has been called a disrupting force that can destabilise established relationships, routines and activities. This article departs from the idea that we are currently going through an early phase of social domestication of the smartphone in which people are establishing new acceptable routines and shared practices integrating this device in their lives and relationships. In order to empirically outline this process of early re-composition of smartphone-connected social practices, we present findings from a qualitative research study of 26 interviews with young smartphone users in Italy (ages 18-30). The findings concentrate on four social settings: (a) in sentimental relationships; (b) when spending time with friends; (c) in family relationships at home; and (d) when studying and doing homework. The results of this analysis bring fresh empirical evidence to the process of smartphone domestication in relation to different social practices, arguing that focusing on the efforts put into recreating shared practices connected to the smartphone represents a fruitful strategy to escape the wave of «moral panic» that characterises most of the public debate.
