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This study investigates the influence of smartphone use on the embodied experiences of pedestrians in urban public spaces. Participants in this study engaged in leisure walks in a bustling urban environment. The study employed a multi-sensory, multi-modal data collection approach, which incorporated mobile eye tracking, screen capture, think-aloud, and participant data review. Findings revealed dynamic relationships between the urban pedestrians' embodied experiences ("streets as experienced through the body"), digital content ("streets on the screen"), and spatial knowledge ("streets in the mind"). The study explored the "unfolding" practice between multiple versions of the surrounding environment and sheds light on the complex interplay of cognitive, experiential, and digital inputs in shaping pedestrian actions. Moreover, the study uncovers the paradoxical effects of smartphone usage and introduces both serendipity and familiarity into the pedestrian's journey through public spaces. Further, the implications of this research highlight the need for mobile media studies to embrace "messy" and "noisy" data for a more comprehensive understanding of the interconnections between minds, bodies, places, and mobilities.

Existing research suggests that social media use is associated with higher levels of social capital—the resources contained within a person's network of friends, family, and other acquaintances. However, in predicting access to these resources, it has been impossible to distinguish the affordances of social media from the underlying advantage of maintaining a favorable social network of relationships on- and offline. Based on data from a representative, national survey, we compare the relationship between social network structure and various activities on Facebook for one type of resource: informal social support in the form of companionship, emotional support, and tangible aid. In addition to a positive association between number of close ties, overall network size and diversity and social support, we find that Facebook status updates and private messaging are independently associated with perceived support. We argue that these affordances are an outcome of the "pervasive awareness" provided by social media.