Perpetual and personal: Swedish young adults and their use of mobile phones
Journal article, 2010

Mobile phones have become widespread among teenagers and young adults across the developed world. This article describes how 18-24-year-olds in Sweden, a country with one of the world's highest penetration rates, use mobile phones for various purposes and in different settings, and what they think of the appropriateness of using the mobile phone in a range of social contexts. Data are derived from a Swedish national survey. We find that in their everyday lives, young adults ( compared with older people) seem to be in perpetual contact with family, friends and colleagues, via traditional voice communication but preferably via text messages. If this pattern can be seen in other national samples, we might argue that use of and attitudes towards mobile phones are more dependent upon life stage than upon culture.

culture

Apparatgeist

life stage

youth

young

Sweden

texting

mobile phone

adults

Author

Ann-Sofie Axelsson

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Technology and Society

New Media and Society

1461-4448 (ISSN) 14617315 (eISSN)

Vol. 12 1 35-54

Subject Categories

Telecommunications

DOI

10.1177/1461444809355110

More information

Created

10/7/2017