PhD thesis final - Royal Holloway, University of London

Chapter 4- Home, domesticity and belongingPlate 4.6. Laptop and television cabinet in the living room(Willi‘s accommodation, Shanghai)Furthermore, the easy-to-carry feature of the laptop also allows Taiwanese expatriates totake it with them anywhere in their residence and for different purposes. For example,during my stay with a host family, my host would sometimes put the laptop on thedining table as a DVD player for the family to watch films or drama while having meals.In so doing, I found that the meal time was turned into an occasion for them to dosomething together and family interaction could be facilitated. For example, as it ischildren who often decide what to watch, it was also a good opportunity for the host andhostess to learn their children‘s interests, which could create a topic of discussion, sothat pleasure and family intimacy may also be forged through watching together.Accordingly, the laptop is not only a practical tool in Taiwanese expatriates‘ daily lives,but it also functions to facilitate their psychological well-being. Especially, it enablesmy respondents to turn their residence into a social space facilitated by their socialrelations and interactions with people which extends beyond the walls of the domesticspace in which they may feel they are being comforted. In addition, a laptop also serves127