Kenichi Ishii, Journal of Communication, 2006
School of Systems & Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Since their rapid growth in popularity in the late 1990s, mobile phones have become an almost essential part of daily life. Currently, mobile phones are also used for purposes other than voice communication. In some countries, there has been a trend for young people to create their own unique subcultures in which they communicate predominantly through SMS (short message service), or by e-mail over their mobile phones.
This study indicated some unique characteristics speciļ¬c to mobile communication media use in comparison to landline phones and PC e-mails. First, compared to other media, landline phones were more closely associated with family interactions. The average age of mobile phone users was also quite different from that of landline phone users. Older people tended to use landline phones, whereas younger people tended to use mobile phones.
