Automation not automatically good in mobile social applications

Social interaction is increasingly computer mediated. Part of the mediated interaction is being automated by the technology used, especially in mobile phone technology. Human factors research has shown that automation is a mixed blessing. It changes the role of the human in the loop with effects on understanding, control, skill, vigilance, and ultimately trust and usefulness. The question we want to raise is: What are the implications of increasing automation in mobile social applications? Jaiku, a mobile awareness service, automates disclosure and diffusion of location metadata, and ZoneTag, a photo-uploading program, automates and suggests metadata associated with images. We discuss alternative models of automation in these systems and present a study of three user groups in Finland and California using Jaiku and ZoneTag. The results reveal issues related to control, understanding, emergent practices, and privacy. We discuss the potentials and limitations of automated solutions in this context and discuss about the need for further research on automation in mobile social applications.