- 學位論文
用沙發交換全世界──沙發客的旅行故事
Exchanging the Whole World with a Couch---CouchSurfers' Travel Stories
摘要
1960年代起，背包客自助旅行風氣在西方國家逐漸興起，許多人以「探索他人的真實生活」為目的，展開冒險旅程；時隔半世紀，背包旅行的衍伸變形──「沙發旅行」逐漸風靡全球。 沙發旅行的組成要件包含「沙發主」與「沙發客」兩類行為者。沙發旅行時，背包客借宿旅遊目的地的當地人家中，自此背包客成為「沙發客」，當地人成為「沙發主」。此一旅遊方式的特殊在於「陌生人間的信任建立」，沙發主與沙發客在見面前通常欠缺深入認識，僅透過網路擁有初步接觸，成為「熟悉的陌生人」。 雙方於「熟悉的陌生性」下，卻在短時間內達到高度互動：沙發主讓陌生的沙發客登堂入室，夜宿沙發；沙發客則借宿在素昧平生的沙發主家。開放私領域的住家讓陌生人借宿，不僅仰賴雙方的信任建立，更需要社群中分享、交換文化的存在，以維繫沙發旅行的運作機制。 因此，本報導著重探討沙發旅行體現的「信任」與「交換文化」意涵。透過田野調查，本報導在前半段除交代沙發旅行的發展脈絡，也從沙發客、沙發主的旅行、接待故事，說明雙方付出或接收信任的過程。後半段則探究沙發社群中存在的分享、交換文化，如何凝聚成員的向心力、加強沙發客彼此的連結；同時，從文化差異角度說明，沙發旅行中異文化接觸時產生的矛盾與衝突，都成為沙發客旅行時獨有的特殊回憶。 當沙發社群中散布著分享、信任等正面價值時，卻也有人濫用了沙發社群，將之當作尋找一夜情的管道，或是免費旅館的搜尋平台。報導末段以負面案例說明社群價值的發揮取決於使用者的心態，同時，以此反思沙發旅行的精神意涵。
並列摘要
Since the 1960s, backpacking has become increasingly popular in Western world. Travelers embark upon adventures with the purpose of “exploring the real lives of others.” Half a century later, CouchSurfing, as an extension of backpacking, is starting to sweep across the world. CouchSurfing consists of “hosts” and “surfers”. On a CouchSurfing journey, backpackers stay with the locals. From that point on, the backpackers are “surfers”, and the locals become “hosts”. The defining feature of this method of travel is the “trust between strangers”. Before meeting up in-person, hosts and surfers become “familiar strangers” through initial contact on the Internet. Based on this “familiar strangeness”, both parties reach a highly intimate form of interaction in a short period of time. Hosts welcome surfers to sleep overnight on their couches, and surfers stay with hosts whom they have never met before. The opening-up of the house – a private space – to strangers is made possible through mutual trust between the two parties. Furthermore, it is built upon the sharing and exchange culture that exists within the CouchSurfing community. This in-depth report investigates the “trust” and “exchange culture” found in CouchSurfing. Through field research, the first half of this report introduces the CouchSurfing’s history, and explains process of paying and receiving trust in CouchSurfing. The latter half explores how the sharing and exchange culture strengthens bonds between members of the CouchSurfing community. It also looks at how conflicts and contradictions from cultural differences can generate special memories for CouchSurfing’s participants. Nevertheless, while most CouchSurfers try to foster the positive values of sharing and trust, some people choose to abuse the community. These people may use CouchSurfing as a channel to look for one-night stands, or as a platform to search for free hostels. While taking these negative cases into account, this report ends by showing how the community is defined by the attitudes of its participants, while reflecting upon the spirit of CouchSurfing.