Skip to main content

Support WBUR

Find Our Friends: How location sharing became a hobby

35:03
Endless Thread producer tracks her several relatives and friends using Apple's Find My app.
Endless Thread producer tracks her several relatives and friends using Apple's Find My app.

At any given time, 110 people can tell you exactly where James Tatter is.

Every single iPhone user has the Find My app on their phone, which allows them to share their location with friends and family. Increasingly, for young people like James, it's also becoming a form of social media.

Endless Thread producer (and James's sister) Grace Tatter wanted to know how something that seems creepy to some people became so commonplace to others — and how it's affecting our relationships off the screen.

Show notes:

On the Grid: Surveillance as a Love Language (The Drift)

Dodgeball Shuttered By Google, Its Co-Creator Promises To Clone It (Business Insider)

Thinking Critically about Social Media (American Sociology Association)

Talking Tech with Apple's Senior Vice President of Services, Eddy Cue (SuperSaf)

The Impact of Location-Tracking Apps on Relationships (Psychology Today)

This content was originally created for audio. An auto-generated transcript is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Heads up that some elements (i.e. music, sound effects, tone) are harder to translate to text.

Headshot of Grace Tatter
Grace Tatter Producer, WBUR Podcasts

Grace Tatter is a producer for WBUR Podcasts.

More…
Headshot of Emily Jankowski
Emily Jankowski Sound Designer

Emily Jankowski is a sound designer for WBUR’s podcast department.

More…
Headshot of Amory Sivertson
Amory Sivertson Host and Senior Producer, Podcasts

Amory Sivertson is a senior producer for podcasts and the co-host of Endless Thread.

More…
Headshot of Ben Brock Johnson
Ben Brock Johnson Director, Digital Audio

Ben Brock Johnson is the director of digital audio at WBUR and co-host of the podcast, Endless Thread.

More…

Support WBUR

Support WBUR

Listen Live