Technological items

The use of technological items, particularly mobile phones and their affordances of SNS were relevant to the sub-practices. The affordances of SNS were utilised in the planning sub-practice, social groups were messaged about the proposed night out, and a SNS group or event formed. Group discussions would then follow and included proposed dates, meeting places and other arrangements. For those young people under 18 years old group messaging also served the purpose of designating someone

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to buy the alcohol for the event. The affordances of SNS were also utilised for story narration. SNS content was posted to detail stories. This is illustrated below.

Illustration 7: Examples of online storytelling

The performances of the young people in the study were watched and judged by their wider social group(s) through the affordances of SNS. Judgements are displayed by the wider social network who are invited to ‘like’ or ‘share’ posts, photographs and statuses. These images and posts are not themselves passive objects but are part of the materials that make up the practice. Proper night out SNS content posted by some study participants had up to forty ‘likes’. New profile pictures of participants dressed up for the night out and posing for the camera, as well as photos of beverages associated with prosperity and more exclusive venues, received the most ‘likes’. Group members watched how others acted and in turn were watched themselves. Judgement is demonstrated by the following posts, about nights out and the number of ‘likes’ received, which were 12 and 6 respectively.

Champaign, cocktails and gossip X — with xx and 2 others at xx xx. 12 people like this.

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The integration of mobile technology within the practice also reduced the risk of physical harm coming to individuals who may have been separated from their group by reuniting them quicker. Charlotte (CG1) narrated a story of losing a male friend on a proper night out who had forgotten to take his phone with him after pre-drinks. They were unable to contact their friend by phone and unfortunately whilst on his own without his phone he was mugged. Charlotte explained that they tried to find him but had not been able to and the next morning he messaged her to say “I got my phone

but I got mugged on my way home”. Although we cannot know, there may have been

the possibility that if he had had his phone with him Charlotte may have been able to meet up with him and see him safely home in the shared taxi.

SNS is a mediator through which the practice of the proper night out is performed and experienced, and which can be shaped and carefully crafted to provide a desired and appropriate online performance.

5.7 Summary

Analysis of the narratives of the participants and related SNS content enabled a linked set of materials integral to the practice of a proper night out to be identified across all three groups of young people. Materials identified were alcohol, the corporeal, spaces, finance and mobile phones. The practice itself is shaped and affected by these materials, which are themselves unequally distributed and need to be understood as broad categories that overlap with meaning, in terms of making sense of the practice and with the know-how required to use them competently and appropriately.

The practice-as-entity is reliant on these material arrangements. For example, without alcohol there would be no proper night out. That is to say if one of the material

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elements was not present there is a risk that the young people would not be able to participate in the identified practice competently. For example, not having the financial resources necessary puts the performance at risk, and lacking mobile technology was thought to put oneself in physical danger.

The consumption of alcohol and drinking to get drunk were constituted as necessary to the proper night out. Drinking and drunkenness enabled the young people to have fun or at least be seen as having fun during the practice through sharing on SNS. The materiality of alcohol impacted on the performance and the enactment of the practice. For example, the drinking of alcohol was highly gendered and the ‘wrong’ choice of drink type or glassware could affect the young people’s gendered performance of the proper night out.

Using the body as a way of informing when a desired intoxication level had been reached was narrated by some of the participants, but was a high risk strategy. The ‘limit’ was constructed differently by the participants and was related to the constituting know-how about the amount of alcohol that could be consumed before becoming ‘too’ intoxicated. This limit was different for each of the young people and a host of contributory and preventative contextual factors were related to how drunk they may feel on any given occasion. Going past the ‘limit’ for some young people is constructed as unacceptable and risky in terms of the embodied intoxication experience and being ‘too’ drunk. In this way excessive drunkenness was constructed as unintentional and the young people avoided being positioned as being irresponsible. The ‘limit’ also represents the balancing act of intoxication; drinking enough to perform the practice competently but not to put ones’ physical safety at

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risk or to lose bodily function. The way in which participants perfected their body and image to get the ‘right’ look and the sharing of this look was constitutive of the practice. Not getting the right look right could also put the practice performance at risk.

The different internal places and venues that were constitutive of the proper night out were constructed as more or less risky. House party venues were constructed as the least risky places whilst mainstream bars and clubs in the night time economy were constructed as the most risky. Internal spaces within venues such as bars and clubs were also constructed as more or less risky, with dance floors being perceived as being the most hazardous internal space due to the perceived risk from sexual predators. Financial resources were necessary to facilitate participation in the practice unless other strategies could be employed to enable participation. Strategies employed in a financially constrained context including buying on credit, relying on alcoholic drinks being bought by others or side-drinking. These alternative strategies were however associated with risk including getting into debt, being spiked, and having alcohol confiscated.

The use of mobile phones and their affordances of SNS were integral to the practice. They were used in the organising, planning and the storytelling stages of the practice. The use of mobile technology enabled performances of the practice to be shared with a wider social network. This is not without risk as there is a danger that inappropriate or poor performance content is shared, and this provided a regulatory measure to the practice (Shove et al. 2012). To reduce this risk, content is carefully crafted and controlled by the participants. Any content that is judged to have not met the required

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standard is either removed or ‘untagged’. An awareness of the different audiences for different SNS is key, and judgements are made by the young people as to what content is appropriate for which site and its corresponding audience.

The material arrangements of the practice of the proper night out shape and affect the conceptualisations of risk. However, it is the use of these materials combined with meaningful engagement with them, and the rules and tacit knowledge that come together to form the practice that supports a more nuanced understanding of risk. The following two chapters then will build on the materiality of the practice by exploring the shared social meanings of the practice and the competence and know-how needed to perform the practice competently.

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