Although these articles were published in June 2002, I think they provide some interesting insights into mobile phone usage among youth in different countries. In this post, I present some key points:

What does mobile phone mean for young people?

1. Adoption of mobile phones among youth generally takes places as a gift from parents. When gifting a teenager, it could also be considered as a transition from childhood to adolescence. Richard Ling calls this as “initiation rites”.

2. The shrinking size of present day families explain why the youth today feel the need to communicate with virtual brothers and sisters (Fortunati, 2002).

3. It is privacy and not mobility that matters. Most youth have cell phone conversations in their bedroom.

4. Mobile phones fulfill two important needs among youngsters – identity and communication. Youngsters use mobile phones to create their own identity – they move away from “hopelessly old-fashioned” parents (Richard Ling). Also they “personalize” the mobile device through covers, ringtones, colors, and various decorations to express their identity. Hence mobile device becomes an extension of the body rather than a prosthesis. Secondly, communication through mobile phone fulfills their need to build their social structure made of values, norms and behavior.

5. Mobile phones help fulfill the need for buidling “social and emotional ties” which are missing in a non-communicated society. (Hoffler and Rossler, Germany)

6. Mobile phone communication mostly takes place with those who live around the corner and it prepares further face-to-face contacts.

Parental behavior towards mobile phone

1. Richard Ling calls mobile phone as a “digital leash” or a “magic helper”.

2. Leslie Haddon talk of “bedroom culture” where parents prefer the children call from their bedroom rather than outdoors.

3. Leopoldina Fortunati and Anna Maria Manganelli point to an interesting paradox – parents think they are in control of their children, whereas children think they are free from parents.

These points indicate how the mobile phones are fulfilling age-related needs and redefining parent-child relationships.

In my earlier post, I had written about how new media technologies such as cell phones are involved in creation of new cultures. In this post, I explore how cultural values, in particular communication goals of a group shape the perceptions and uses of technology.

Culture and in particular communication goals and practices of a community may impact how technologies are viewed and perceived. In his article, Leonardi (2003) examined how cultural communicative practices affect the perceptions of cell phones, computers and internet among first generation, working class United States Latinos. He conducted 7 focus groups with an average of 11 participants in each group. The average age of participants was 34 and the average age of residency in the United States was 13 years.

His study revealed that United States Latinos perceived cell phones as connecting devices whereas computers and internet as isolating devices. He found that cell phones were viewed as technology that enhanced interpersonal communication with those near or far and allowed them to be in touch with their loved ones – anytime, anywhere. On the other hand, they thought of computers and internet as devices that enable people to access information and hence save time. Despite their usefulness, they commented that the excess use of computers and internet could isolate you from family. Whereas the only criticism they had for cell phone usage was its use by people in public places such as churches.

The fact that participants found it easier to use cell phones, unlike computers and internet because language was a barrier, meant that they fully understood the capabilities of technology and had positive perceptions of cell phones. Therefore, it may seem that cultural communication values shape how communication technologies are understood and used.  

Last year, I had gone to American University for a guest lecture on how to design a research project on mobile phones. I involved the students in a discussion on how do we view mobile phones other than just as a communication tool. As a result of our discussions, we identified several ways in which mobile phones are viewed:

1. Symbol of independence – The students said that with mobile phones you can personally choose whom you will communicate with and your calls are not screened by your parents, friends, or spouse.

2. Symbol of dependence – Because anyone can call you 24X7 and especially your parents can check on you anytime.

3. Status Symbol – It is a way to non-verbally brag about yourself. Depending on the style, color, cost and features of your cell phone, you can be seen as cool, geeky, wealthy, important, etc.

4. Fashion statement (accessories) – Most people wear their phone and the style, color, cost and features of a cell phone can enhance your look or, at least, contribute in some way to your appearance.

5. Safety features – People who carry cell phones have the added assurance that they can call police or anyone else when danger comes, if you’re lost or stranded. Children now give this reason for carrying cell phones to school.

6. Symbol of freedom – Some parents see the phones as a teethering device so they eliminate curfews.

7. Symbol of “trust” for some parents who shell out the funds to purchase phones and pay monthly fees for their children.

8. Gizmos that promote particular identities - “smart phone”, “razor”, “slider”, “envy”, “trio”, and “chocolate.”

All these above descriptions of mobile phones by the students suggest that the role of mobile phones in the life of young people is much more than it being a communication tool.

In her paper, Personal Portable Pedestrian: Lessons from Japanese Mobile Phone Use, Ito (2004), describes how mobile phone adoption and usage among the Japanese is embedded in a set of social – technical – cultural contexts. According to her, a “technosocial” framework provides a better approach to study technologies in society, because technologies and their usage patterns are determined by the technosocial ecologies in which they are evolving. Using the example of text messaging among young Japanese women, she explains, that the practice was not only adopted by the larger Japanese population, but also led to design innovations in technologies. Therefore, it was the social popularity of text messaging and the cultural value associated with it, which gave rise to the technical innovation. Further she explains, that the “urban ecologies” characterized by densely populated streets, public transportation and crowded living conditions have also resulted in people being more comfortable in exchanging messages rather than making voice calls.

I recently came across this article, which states that camera phone market is growing in India and youth is driving this growth. In my research on mobile phone usage among Indian youth, all the young people I interviewed, said that they would like to have a camera in their mobile phone. This may not really be an innovation in technology, but it certainly is an example of how the demand for camera phones is promoting the makers to add features and new capabilities to the mobile phones.

The above two examples of text messaging and the camera phones describe how the social and cultural value placed on social networking through text messages and owning a camera phone has led to evolution in technology within a particular context. I am interested in collecting any examples of such innovations in technologies particularly mobile phones which have grown out of the social and cultural value placed on it.

The saying “romance is in the air” appears to be true in modern times too. In today’s world, it is mobile phones which are carrying the messages of love. Although you may read numerous articles about how the way you smell, the color of your clothing and your confidence can make you look more attractive to your date. In India where dating is not a culturally acceptable phenomenon, people are using mobile phones to date and romance. Does it mean that how you look, smell and the way you carry yourself has no relevance in India between the dating couple? I am not sure. But it is true that Indians are using mobile phones to get to know their partners before marriage even if the match is arranged. In her study Carolyn Wei, found several instances where young Indians living in Bangalore were using mobile phones to maintain personal and romantic relationships. The study supports the evidence that mobile phones are being used for dating, however, the extent to which they are impacting or changing cultural values about dating and romance is still not known. The question still remains, whether dating before marriage is now acceptable in India or is it happening because mobile phones provide a convenient way?

This article in Asia Times by Sultan Shahin, reports on how short messaging services (sms) on mobile phones have been embraced by Indians and changing communication behavior and practices. It reports, that on an average, 60 messages are sent out per phone everyday. This means minimum of 2 messages in an hour. SMS is being used to flirt, bypassing the cultural rules and also for greeting people on special occassions such as festivals. People are writing love poems and these short messages are arousing people. One would think that these short messages won’t affect people who are already bombarded with so many advertising messages. But probably intimately crafted messages do have an effect on people. And words do have an effect on people more than we may assume.