Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
whilst others, who are unconvinced about the
general benefits of mobile phones, recount some
of the more irritating social behaviors associated
with mobile phone use (Monk, Carroll, Parker,
& Blythe, 2004).
My own view of mobile phone technology is
generally positive. As a keen mobile user myself,
I encourage my own children to use their mobile
devices but, whilst I am a keen supporter of tech-
nology for children, I do consider that technologies
for children should be designed for their needs.
studies might also inform us about how children
might evolve towards teenage use patterns. It is,
however, more the case that children and adults are
the extreme cases and there is a normal distribution
of use that peaks with teenage behaviour. As an
example of older teens being the peak users, a study
of Japanese youths showed that Japanese teens send
twice as many texts than twenty to thirty year olds,
(Yoshii et al., 2002), and a study that compared
adult and older teenage use by Smith, Rogers, &
Brady, (2003) showed that, across teenagers and
adults, the younger the user, the more contacts
they had in their phone. This does not necessar-
ily transcend to the child / teen divide as younger
children will typically have fewer contacts than
older teens and will make fewer texts.
Some behaviors of younger people might be
associated with place and context. One context
that is very familiar to children and teens is school
and so, mobile phone behaviors by these groups,
reflect this context. In a thorough ethnographic
study that used focus groups, scrapbooks, ques-
tionnaires, observations, and diaries by Carroll,
Howard, Vetere, Peck, & Murphy (2002) with
teens aged 16-20; participants reported that the
phone brought to them a 'freedom from constraints
of time and place', and a 'fashion item'. These
respondents reported texting together as a group
in school in dull classes, and playing games under
the table in the classroom when they were bored.
The 'value' of the phone as a symbol of iden-
tity is a common theme in many research studies,
Berg, Taylor, & Harper (2003) allude to this in
their paper on the design of mobile technologies
for teenagers, also highlighting the two aspects of
connectedness and solidarity that are enabled by
mobile phone technology. There is certainly a lot
that can be said about identity and mobile phone
use for these older users, it is less clear, however,
how much identity matters to younger children
and so this particular aspect of mobile phone use
is not especially discussed in this article.
WHAT CHILDREN USE
MOBILE PHONES FOR
Data on the use of mobile phones with children
is relatively scarce. Most reports focus on older
teenagers and young adults but there are a handful
of studies that have considered younger ages. That
mobile phones are a first choice for communication
between friends and synchronization of events was
evidenced in Livingstone & Bober, (2004)—who
reported that, compared to email and synchronous
chat, the mobile phone was the preferred choice of
children aged 9 -16, as a voice device for seeking
advice, and as a text device for flirting, setting up
meetings, and killing time. The use of texting, by
this age group, to arrange meetings is also reported
in Axup & Bidwell, (2005).
Most of the other studies of use are currently
looking at older ages. Taylor & Harper, (2002)
described the gift-giving nature of mobile phone
ownership as users (teenagers 16-19 in this case)
collected, shared and stored memories with their
mobile phone devices; one girl in this study rather
eloquently summarized this behaviour saying she
had 'so many little memories'. Other activities
reported in this 2002 study included exchanging
phones, sharing messages and photos, and saying
goodnight to one another by text.
Most of the studies on teen behaviour serve to
highlight how teenagers behave differently from
adults and thus it could be assumed that these
Search WWH ::




Custom Search