In Mobile Identity: Youth, Identity, and Mobile Communication Media Gitte Stald (2008) outlines four major themes related to “Mobile Identity.”  As I read each theme, I began to reflect on each in my own life.  Were these themes true in my life just as he suggested they were true in the lives of young people in Denmark?

Theme 1 – Availability:  “One essential aspect of mobile phone use is the fact that the phone, and following this, the personal user, is always on” (Stald, 2008, p. 151).  I would agree that availability is very important and one of the key reasons I subscribe to my current mobile and data package.  My work keeps me in and out of the office, but the mobile keeps me connected (via “real” phone calls or email) to those who might need to reach me.  The article discussed this availability as being very important to teens for personal/friendship reasons.  As a young adult, the availability is equally important to me for work matters and personal matters.

Theme 2 – Presence:  “It seems that modern people, in particular young people, are often potentially somewhere else mentally than in their present physical location” (Stald, 2008, p. 154).  I have witnessed this when out with my friends, with students in my class, and I myself have even been guilty of this on occasion.  It is so hard to resist that sound or vibration notifying me that someone just sent me an email/facebook update/text message, etc.  The overwhelming feeling of “I just have to check this message…it could be very important” takes precedence over whatever is happening in the physical present.  Even though I have found myself partaking in this annoying habit of mobile phone checking, I, too, must admit that when others place checking their phone above spending quality time in my presence, I am annoyed.  Stephen Lundin’s popular self-improvement book titled Fish! talks about “Being Present.”  This concept of being present both physically and mentally in “real-life” situations is so important to connecting on a personal level with those around you.  So, while being connected via the mobile is a positive, when it steals your focus from “real” connections with people, it could become a problem.

Theme 3 – Mobile as Personal Log:  Previously, I would never have referred to my mobile as “a kind of diary that saves experiences, memories, thoughts, or moments in a visual and textual form,” (Stald, 2008, p. 157).  However, after reflecting on my mobile use, I realize that I do heavily rely upon my mobile device for phone numbers and calendar appointments.  I do not keep a paper calendar; without my mobile phone I honestly wouldn’t know when I needed to be somewhere!  Recently, I spent about 3 weeks without my phone because it had been run over by my own vehicle!  During those 3 weeks I felt completely lost…I didn’t know how to reach people (because my SIM card didn’t have everyone’s number), and my new phone didn’t have data capabilities, so I was unable to check my calendar events.  I certainly connected with the quote from the young girl who said, “All my stuff is on my mobile, I mean my diary and like everything is simply on my mobile.  My entire phone numbers, everything.  Nothing could be worse.  Because all my things are on my mobile, really” (Stald, 2008, p. 157).

Theme 4 – Social Learning:  “Behavior with the mobile is a signal of collective and individual identity” (Stald, 2008, p. 160).  Stald continues in the article to discuss the importance of self-regulation of mobile use and the varying norms within varying groups.  My mobile use varies from situation to situation; I am more likely to check every vibration and phone notification when I am with close friends or family than I am at work.  I certainly do not check my phone while teaching class, simply because I am modeling the kind of behavior I expect from my students.  I find myself screening phone calls in certain locations because I can predict the content of the phone call and I realize that I do not want that conversation to be heard publically.  All of these social learning norms have been taught to me or modeled over time.  Are we modeling and teaching these behaviors to today’s young people effectively?

Just like today’s youth, I find myself immersed in mobile use.  I cannot imagine my life without my cell phone, and yet the cell phone has added some complicating factors to my life.  Stald (2008) said it best, “The mobile becomes a learning tool for dealing with living conditions in modern society for young people, while at the same time it adds to the conditions they are trying to deal with” (p. 144).  I wonder if we, as educators/parents/adults, are doing enough to teach young people how to deal with the complications to life that the mobile brings?

For more information on teens and their connection with their cell phone, check out the following link:
http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/cell-phones-key-to-teens-social-lives-47-can-text-with-eyes-closed-6126/

Stald, G. (2008). “Mobile Identity: Youth, Identity, and Mobile Communication Media." Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 143–164

Lundin, S., Paul, H. & Christenson, J. (2000). Fish! New York, NY: Hyperion.

Social Networks Happen Offline, Too!

As I read Danah Boyd’s 2007 article, Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites:  The Role of networked Publics in Teenage Social Life” one comment resonated loud and clear.  “The popularity of MySpace is deeply rooted in how the site supports sociality amongst preexisting friend groups” (p. 10).  This alludes to the idea that social networks exist apart from the popular sites of the Internet like MySpace, Facebook, etc.  Even Boyd (2007) recognizes such a relationship when she writes, “Because of the intricate connection between offline and online social worlds, the audience that teens envision online is connected to their social world offline, or to their hopes about the possible alternatives online” (p 15).  Therefore, pre-existing social networks in the “real-world” greatly impact the social networks in the cyber-world.  While this seems like an obvious statement, no one seems to make a “big deal” about offline social networks.  Why not?  Aren’t offline social networks just as powerful, just as prevalent, and just as public?

Nicholas Christakis discusses how the large-scale, face-to-face social networks in which we are embedded affect our lives in his TED talk.  (http://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_christakis_the_hidden_influence_of_social_networks.html )

He has spent a great deal of time researching, plotting, and graphing the visual map of social networks in the real-world looking specifically at obesity trends and happiness trends amongst connected people.  His research demonstrates that a person’s experience in the world depends greatly upon their place in a social network.  He explains that connections matter and people choose a connected life because the benefits outweigh the costs; when the costs outweigh the benefits, ties are cut and the network disintegrates.

If participating in a “real-world” social network has benefits, then one can assume that participation in the cyber-world social network has benefits as well.  In the YouTube video Social Networking In Plain English (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc) the author explains that Internet based social networking sites show the hidden connections of real-world social networks that otherwise couldn’t be seen.  This documentation allows a member of the network to better understand their audience.  Boyd (2007) explains it is “necessary to understand the scope of one’s audience to properly present oneself” (p. 15).

So, to answer my question above “Aren’t offline social networks just as powerful, just as prevalent, and just as public?” I say yes; the difference is the proof of connection with online networking sites.  Boyd (2007) concludes, “What has changed with the emergence of new tools for mediating sociality is the scale and persistence of possibly publicity” (p. 22).  I conclude that today’s teens need education about social networks both online and offline and the advantages and disadvantages that both can bring.

Boyd, Danah. (2007) “Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life.” MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning – Youth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume (ed. David Buckingham). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.