A meta-analysis review of mobile image sharing

Abstract

Usually, we share what we are not ashamed of. The purpose of this review article is to undertake a meta-analysis of articles which have explored and sought to clarify ways in which mobile image sharing occurs. Firstly, I provide an outline and introductory contextualization. Secondly, I reintroduce a corpus of 13 key articles from the prehistory of smartphones (2002–2008). These papers are early conceptualizations and taxonomies that theorize on the sharing of mobile photos. They are analyzed relative to Lasswell’s (1948) communication model. In this context, this model provides theoretical cues in a more recent context to questions such as: when, how, and why do people share their mobile photos and what happens when they do so. The relevance of revising early conceptualizations not only helps understanding how mobile sharing practices can be theorized and understood, but also contributes and strengthens an analysis of shame and share.