As a technological device for “any time” or “perpetual” communication, the cell phone has changed the ways in which people communicate and establish their networks of contacts. The cell phone is transforming not only society but also the framework in which society lives, modifying the social conception of space and time, and redefining social relations. It has changed the way people communicate. This can now be achieved at all times irrespective of their location.
Amongst cell phone users there is variation in use, both in degree and form. Licoppe’s analysis of “connected” management of relationships speaks about the physical absence of a person which is rendered present by the multiplication of mediated communication. It shows how the use of mobile communication devices and different forms of textual exchange corresponds to a connected mode of relationship maintenance.
Examining the interrelationship between cell phone use and social connectedness, Wei and Lo noted that the cell phone has evolved into a facilitator of social relationships and supplements the landline to strengthen family bonds by expanding the psychological neighborhoods of the users. The cell phone expands the user’s “psychological neighborhoods” and facilitates “maintenance of symbolic proximity”.
The selective interpersonal relationship theory of Matsuda presupposes that the cell phone can change social networks among young people. Hutchby and Barnett also believed that the cell phone is bringing about new forms of social interaction and new structures of conversation and practices of interaction. These are evident in the potential of the cell phone to make or receive calls or send and receive messages at any time and from any location. However, the receiver exercises control on communication by choosing to accept or neglect a call at his/her discretion.
Media use by the youth, in comparison to the use by the general population, has received the increased attention of scholars. The new media, particularly in the use of the cell phone, is significant in the life of the youth but their experience differs from the previous generation. Communication for them has become a 24-hour activity and is an integral part of their daily routine. They are now able to connect to new contacts and maintain those contacts via the application of the new media. These also offer them new means of communication, from voice calls to texting.
Compared to the previous generation communication is now limitless, transcending time, space, and location. Citing the Kaiser Family report, Morimoto and Friedland pointed out that the media use by children between the ages of 8 and 18 years in the United States in 2010 reached 7.38 hours a day which was 2.25 hours higher than in 2005. This included watching television, listening to music, using a computer, playing video games, reading print media, and watching movies. It excluded the time spent on using mobile media which could be another 20% of the total time spent on this activity.
The youth constitute the major constituency of mobile technology and are considered to be the forerunners in its adoption. However, the purposes of using media vary among the youth. These include: to gratify social and instrumental needs, fashion, accessibility, recreation, or entertainment.
Social Exclusion, Bullying, and Cyberbullying
