3 Mobile Identities by Stald 更新版Word格式文档下载.docx

3 Mobile Identities by Stald 更新版Word格式文档下载.docx

《3 Mobile Identities by Stald 更新版Word格式文档下载.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《3 Mobile Identities by Stald 更新版Word格式文档下载.docx（21页珍藏版）》请在冰点文库上搜索。

MobileIdentity:

Youth,Identity,andMobileCommunicationMedia

GitteStald

（ITUniversityofCopenhagen,DepartmentofInnovativeCommunication）

Parentsusuallydon’tknowhowimportantatoolthemobilehasbecomeinyoungpeople’slives.Theyonlythinkaboutthecommunicativefunction,notthesocialmeaning.（sixteen-year-oldgirl）

Thegirlwhoisquotedaboveexpressesanimmediateunderstandingofthemobilephone’sdual,butinterdependentqualitiesforyoungpeople.Onequalityisthecommunicativefunction,whichisfacilitatedbythetechnologicaldevice:

itisaboutthemobileasatoolandachannelfortheexchangeofinformation.Theotherqualityisthesocialmeaning,whichdevelopsfromthecommunication.RichLingdescribesthemobilephoneasbeingdoublyarticulated,thatis,itisaphysicaldevicebutitisalsoamediumthroughwhichwecommunicateandthroughwhichwemaintainsocialcontact.Inshort,themeaningofthemobilegoesbeyonditspracticalfunction.Thequotealsoindicatestheyounggirl’sperceptionofthemobileasholdingaspecificmeaningforyoungpeopleascomparedtoadults:

thatis,thevalueofthemobiledependsoncontextualusesandexperiences.

Thefocusofthisarticleisonthemeaningofthemobileinyoungpeople’slives,specificallyinrelationtoquestionsofidentity.Inthecrossoverbetweenthisvolume’sthreekeythemes—youth,learning,andidentity—otherissuesmightwellhavebeenincluded,forexampletheuseofmobileplatformsineducationandformallearning,ororganizedprojectsonhowtoexploreandexploitmobiledigitalplatformsforcreativeandinnovativepurposes.Myaim,however,istotakeacloserlookatthemundaneandeverydayusesofthismediumbyyoungpeopleinrelationtoidentityandlearning.Becauseofthealwaysthere,alwaysonstatusofthemobileandthepaceofexchangeofinformation,andbecausethemobileisthekeypersonalcommunicationdeviceforsomanyyoungpeople,itbecomesimportantinestablishingsocialnormsandrulesandintestingone’sownpositioninrelationtothepeergroup.

Mytitle,“MobileIdentity,”hasadoublemeaning.Ontheonehand,supportedbythesubtitle,itincludestheideathatyoungpeople’sidentityisinfluencedbytheiruseofmedia,inparticularpersonalcommunicationmediasuchasthemobilephone.Ontheotherhand,italsoimpliesaviewofadolescentidentityasmobile,changinganddevelopingmomentbymomentandovertime,asverysensitivetochangesintherelationsbetweenfriendsandfamilies,andtotheemotionalandintellectualchallengesexperiencedandmediatedthroughtheuseofthemobilephone（amongotherfactors）.Thenotionofmobileidentitysuggeststhatidentityisfluidandthatadolescentsareconstantlynegotiatingwhotheyare,howtheyarethatidentity,andwithwhomtheyarethatidentity.Themobilephonefacilitatesthismobilityofidentity,asitisubiquitousinyouthculturalcontextsasamediumforconstantupdating,coordination,informationaccess,anddocumentation.Atthesametime,themobileisanimportantmediumforsocialnetworking,theenhancingofgroupsandgroupidentity,andfortheexchangebetweenfriendswhichisneededinthereflexiveprocessofidentityconstruction.Themobilehasbecometheidealtooltodealwiththepaceofinformationexchange,themanagementofcountlessloose,closeorintimaterelations,thecoordinationofever-changingdailyactivities,andtheinsecurityofeverydaylife.Hencethemobilebecomesalearningtoolfordealingwithlivingconditionsinmodernsocietyforyoungpeople,whileatthesametimeitaddstotheconditionstheyaretryingtodealwith.

Thischapteraddressesfourbroadthemes.Thefirstthemeisavailability—thefactthatthemobileisalwayson,whichmakestheusersalwaysavailablewithnoorfewcommunicationandinformation-freemoments.Thesecondthemeistheexperienceofpresenceduringmobilecommunication,thatis,theexperienceofsocialpresenceinpublicspacebeinginvadedbyongoingmobilecommunication.Thethirdthemeistheimportanceofthemobileasapersonallogforactivities,networks,andthedocumentationofexperiences,arolethathasimplicationsbothforrelationsbetweentheindividualandthegroupandforemotionalexperience.Thesediscussionsleadtoanalysisofthemobileasatoolforlearningsocialnorms.BeforeIproceedwiththediscussionofthesethemes,however,Iofferashortdiscussionoftheconceptofmobilemediaandabroaderaccountoftheroleofthemobilephoneinthecontextofcontemporaryyouthculture.

Themainempiricalbasisformyanalysisisquantitativeandqualitativefindingsfromaseriesofstudiesoffifteen-totwenty-four-year-oldDanesandtheirmobilephoneuse.Thesestudies,whichwereconductedin2004and2006,includedquestionnairesurveys,individualinterviews,observations,and（inonecase）highschoolessayson“MyMobileandMe.”Asevenyoungergroupsofchildrenhavetheirownmobiles,thefifteen-totwenty-four-yearoldscannotnecessarilybeseenasrepresentativeofyoungDanishmobilephoneusersingeneral.However,otherstudiesandsurveysindicatethatthegeneralfindingsfromthesestudiesalsoreflectsomeofthemainusesandmeaningsofyoungerchildren’smobilephoneuse,aswellasexperiencesinothernationalandculturalsettings.

Availability（P150）

Withthemobileyoudon’tmissmuch.Youhaveyourfriendsrightatyourhandandyoudomorespontaneousthings.（Marie,twentyyears）

Oneessentialaspectofmobilephoneuseisthefactthatthephone,andfollowingthis,thepersonaluser,isalwayson.Our2006surveyshowedthat80percentoftheinformantsneverturnedofftheirmobilephoneandthat20percentturneditoffforbetweenfourandtwelvehours.Thequalitativedataindicatethatthemobileintheselattercaseswasturnedoffatnighttoallowundisturbedsleep,atworkwhenrequired,andincinemas.Adolescentsveryseldomcompletelyturnofftheirmobiles,evenatschool,inrestaurants,silentcompartmentsontrains,atthedinnertable,andsoforth—theysimplyputthephoneon“mute”andareabletocheckthedisplayforincomingmessageswhenthemobilevibrates.

Thismeansthatusers—inparticulartheadolescentswhoneverturntheirphoneoff—arealwaysavailableforcommunication,information,entertainment,or,inshort,forotherpeople.Onenineteen-year-oldgirlsaysthatevenifshesometimesturnsoffhermobilewhenshereallyneedstorelax,itisn’tforlong—“Ican’tbewithoutitfortoolong.WhatifImisssomething?

[laughs].”“Missingsomething”referstotheconstantupdatingofthesocialnetwork,whilethelaughindicatesherself-consciouscollusionwiththispractice.Ontheonehand,thegirlopenlytellsabouttherealityofherlifewiththemobileandhowshedependsonit.Yetontheotherhand,shetakesamorereflexive,distanced—evenironic—stancetowardsuchextensiveuses,needs,andattitudes.

Timeofformobile-freezonesarealuxury,whichonlythefewwhoaresosecureintheirpositionintheirsocialnetworkcandaretoenjoy.Suchusersliketodemonstratethattheyareincontrolbyleavingthemobileathomeorturningitoffeverynowandthen.However,theabsenceofthemobile—eitherbychoiceorasaresultoflackofmoneyorstolenorbrokendevices—isathreattotheimportantupdatingofthesocialnetwork,andhencealsotoone’sownposition,one’sabilitytotakepartinsocialactivities,andultimatelytoone’sself-perceptionoridentity.

Severalofourinformantssaidthattheywouldkeepthemobileonatnightandevenhaveitnexttotheirheadonthepillow,notonlybecausethemobilefunctionedasanalarmclock,butalsobecausetheydidnotwanttomissanymessagesorcalls.Somestatedthatitmaybeimportanttoyourfriendsthatyouareavailablearoundtheclock,iftheyneedsupport,comfort,someonetotalkto,orlaughwith.Inthatcase,sleepislessimportant.Oneexampleistwenty-year-oldMariewhosays:

“Itisnexttothepillowsoyoucanhearitifsomeonecallsatnight,becauseyouwouldn’tliketomissacall....IfsomeoneissadordrunkorhashadsomebadexperiencesandneedstotalktomeIwouldfeelterriblybadiftheycouldn’tgetholdofme.”Inthesecasesthemobileisalinetoinstantfriendlysupportandemotionalpresence.Nineteen-year-oldJacobsaysthesame:

“Yourtruefriends—thosewiththelabel‘realgoodfriends’intheaddressbook—they’retheonesyoucallortextat2a.m.andsay:

‘Hey,I’mintrouble.You’vegottohelpme!

’”Beingalwaysonandavailableexpressesconfirmationoftrustwhichisfundamentalfortruerelationships.Theunwantedcallsofallkindswhichareaconsequenceofthisaretheinevitablepricetopayforconstantavailabilityinone’sintimatesocialrelationships.（TheseexamplesoftheimportanceofthemobilehaveanequivalentinthecaseoftheBritishimmigrantgirl,Walia,inSandraWeberandClaudiaMitchell’schapterinthisvolume.JustliketheparticipantsintheDanishstudy,Waliacannotimaginebeingwithouthermobile,notleastbecauseofitsroleasamediatororlinkbetweensocialandpersonalidentity.）

PhaticCommunication

Manyyounguserssendmessagestooneanotherthatask“Hey,whatareyoudoing?

”orcallswiththesameintention:

tobeincontactmeansbeingcorrectly“tunedin,”or“inphase.”Areplytothesephaticmessagesisnotexpectedquiteasfastasitusuallyistoothermessages,butnotansweringamessagelikethisatsomepointstillamountstoarejectionoftherelationship.

AphenomenonthatisnotknownassuchamongDanishyouthispilaris,whichisfamilia