Information Technology Reference
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across situations and spaces and many show that
children are 'catching up' with their older siblings.
In 2000, a study by Statistics Norway reported
that 26% of 11/12 year olds had mobile phones
(Vaage, 2000), in this same country, a study by
Ling, (2000) reported that 60% of 13 year olds
had mobile phones, perhaps adding some weight
to the 'folk' belief that many children get their first
mobile phone as they reach their teenage years.
This 'folk' belief might have been true in 2000
but more recent statistics paint a different picture.
One study indicated that in January 2001, half of
all 7 to 16 year-olds in the UK were mobile phone
owners (National Opinion Poll, 2001). A 2003 study
reported that 28% of younger teenagers owned a
mobile (Aoki & Downes, 2003), and in the same
year it was estimated that up to a whopping 90% of
UK secondary school students (11-16) had a mobile
phone (Selwyn, 2003). Similar figures are reported
in other developed areas; in Japan, for instance, a
national survey of mobile phone communications
conducted by Video Research, (2002) found that the
overall penetration of mobile phones in Japan was
73.7% with ownership by students age 12 and older
up at 75.7%. In 2005, the Wireless World Survey
of mobile phone use reported that more than a third
of all children aged 5-9 (more than a million) now
have a mobile phone and the average age at which
a British child gets his or her first mobile phone is
now 8 (Wireless World Forum, 2005).
Given the inevitable lag associated with most
of these figures, it appears clear that in 2008, the
uptake of mobile phones by younger children is
bound to be rising—comments in the popular press
and anecdotal evidence suggest that children as
young as 6 and 7 are now becoming regular users
of mobile phones.
almost nothing that cannot be added to a mobile
phone and as more and more functions are added
the possibilities and power embedded in the mobile
device change the way they can be used and the
way their usefulness is perceived..
It is common to classify mobile phones ac-
cording to their features. An entry level phone
will normally have functions for making voice
calls, for sending and receiving text messages,
for some customization of the display screen and
ring tone, and for profile setting (silent/general
etc). This sort of phone will likely also offer the
possibility to delete and reorganize messages, cre-
ate a contact list, and to see missed calls. It might
have a calculator, some simple games, a simple
organizer for events (calendar), and a clock with
an alarm and in most cases a stop watch.
More sophisticated phones offer camera
functions (still and video), extra connectivity
(Bluetooth/infrared), media player/storage, more
sophisticated games, a more graphic interface,
internet services, and radio. At the top of the
range mobile phones also provide office document
compatibility, GPS and navigation, the potential
for the use of customizable applications, web and
video calling, and easy email functions.
Whereas mobile phones pack a whole lot of
features into the technology, the user is often
constrained by the service provider. Some service
providers limit the connectivity allowed with their
packages—the use of services, even if they can
be provided, are often rationed due to the cost of
the service, for instance, the use of the Internet
can be an expensive choice on many pay as you
go tariffs.
Opinions of the use and usefulness of mobile
phones vary. The mobile phone is simultaneously
lauded as a great device and reviled as a destructive
irritation. In their topic, Perpetual Contact, Katz
& Aakhus, (2001) write, '
it [the mobile phone] is
a technology that has been given credit for—inter
alia—saving lives, organizing terrorist efforts,
and overthrowing dictators
.' Some commentators
focus on the possible health risks (Burgess, 2002),
THE TECHNOLOGY OF
THE MOBILE PHONE
Mobile phones come in all shapes and sizes and
have multiple functionalities. There seems to be
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