The Effects Of Mobile Telephones On Social And Individual Life

Yes it's an old study but it's full of wonderful insight which is still relevant today. A few excerpts:

Whatever it is called, and wherever it is used, this simple, accessible technology alters the way in which individuals conduct their everyday lives. It has extensive implications for the cultures and societies in which it is used; it changes the nature of communication, and affects identities and relationships. It affects the development of social structures and economic activities, and has considerable bearing on its users' perceptions of themselves and their world.

The telephone has always been important to the lovelorn and the lustful, but the personal nature of the mobile changes the nature of the roles it plays, dispensing with the old necessity to sit by the phone and wait for it to ring, but adding to the significance of exchanging numbers and making calls.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, one of the earliest uses of the word 'mobile' was in association with the Latin phrase mobile vulgus, the excitable crowd. Today's mobile lives up to these origins: the mobile introduces new senses of speed and connectivity to social life, establishing new kinds of relationships between individuals and with the urban crowd. In this respect, the mobile can facilitate the emergence of a new private world, a virtual community which can be pulled together in a matter of moments.

on the mobile
the effects of mobile telephones
on social and individual life
Dr Sadie Plant

The Effects Of Mobile Telephones On Social And Individual Life

Yes it's an old study but it's full of wonderful insight which is still relevant today. A few excerpts:

Whatever it is called, and wherever it is used, this simple, accessible technology alters the way in which individuals conduct their everyday lives. It has extensive implications for the cultures and societies in which it is used; it changes the nature of communication, and affects identities and relationships. It affects the development of social structures and economic activities, and has considerable bearing on its users' perceptions of themselves and their world.

The telephone has always been important to the lovelorn and the lustful, but the personal nature of the mobile changes the nature of the roles it plays, dispensing with the old necessity to sit by the phone and wait for it to ring, but adding to the significance of exchanging numbers and making calls.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, one of the earliest uses of the word 'mobile' was in association with the Latin phrase mobile vulgus, the excitable crowd. Today's mobile lives up to these origins: the mobile introduces new senses of speed and connectivity to social life, establishing new kinds of relationships between individuals and with the urban crowd. In this respect, the mobile can facilitate the emergence of a new private world, a virtual community which can be pulled together in a matter of moments.

on the mobile the effects of mobile telephones on social and individual life Dr Sadie Plant