Increasing intolerance of uncertainty over time: the potential influence of increasing connectivity

Anxiety levels have increased for several decades, despite objective indicators of historically unprecedented safety. A perceived inability to tolerate uncertainty or distress motivates individuals experiencing anxiety to engage in safety behaviors. Mobile phones provide unrestricted access to safety cues intended to reduce uncertainty and therein anxiety; however, recurrent engagement in reassurance seeking behaviors paradoxically increases anxiety. The current research was designed to assess whether self-reported intolerance of uncertainty (IU) levels may have been increasing and, if so, whether the increases correlate positively with mobile phone penetration and Internet usage. A cross-temporal meta-analysis was conducted using data from 52 North American studies exploring IU as well as social indicator data from several public sources. A statistically significant increase in IU levels occurred from 1999 to 2014, correlated with increases in mobile phone penetration and Internet usage. As hypothesized, IU levels appeared to be increasing over time and the increases correlate positively with mobile phone penetration and Internet usage. The results support the possibility that mobile phones increase reassurance seeking, acting as safety cues, and reducing spontaneous, everyday exposures to uncertainty, which may ultimately potentiate psychopathology by increasing IU and anxiety. Subsequent experimental research to assess for causality appears warranted. Limitations and directions for future research are presented.     

Mobile Snapshots and Private/Public Boundaries

This study attempts to focus on how the boundaries of both the private and the public domain are lived out in people's practices of taking mobile snapshots via camera phones and sharing them on the Web. From private photo-taking practices in public places to online disclosure of camera phone pictures, private/public boundaries are no longer firmly fixed. Based on qualitative interview data collected from 20 Korean camera phone users in their early twenties, this study takes a closer look at how private/public boundaries are blurred or rearranged in people's everyday camera phone usage in a public space, as well as in their sharing of camera phone photos on the Web. By examining the concrete cases of “displaced moments” captured by camera phones and their circulation on the Web as a form of self-presentation, it discusses how mobile snapshots have served as a medium that is shaping the dynamic reconfiguration of private/public boundaries.     

Beijing Calling... Mobile Communication in Contemporary China

Subsequently, with the recent wave of industrialization, China has become the “factory” of the globalized world. The modernization of this country, however, is not confined to the provision of production at a low added value: It also entails technological appropriation and innovation. In particular, China represents the biggest world market for mobile phones and will soon dominate the Internet market. In this country, the total number of mobile and fixed-line subscribers exceeds 750 million, and the total number of Internet users is more than 162 million. The present study focuses on how, after a decade of mobile phone use, the inhabitants of Beijing evaluate the changes in the social and communicative sphere as a result of the introduction of the mobile phone. In this paper, we present some results of a quantitative research, specifically focused on mobile communication. Based on face-to-face questionnaires administered to a convenient sample of 487 respondents, this study addresses the following research questions: After a decade of mobile phone use, how do Chinese people perceive the importance of this device? To what extent do the adoption and use of mobile phones increase or decrease social connectivity in contemporary China? To what extent does the use of mobile phones in everyday life enhance or reduce the communications – do they make you feel closer to or more distant from other people? What are the variables that predict users’ attitudes toward mobile phones in China?     

Emotional attachment and mobile phones

Conclusion This article has provided, through reference to recent research, insights into the ways that people are using their mobile phones in their everyday lives and in particular it has explored and examined the concept of emotional attachment to the mobile phone. In offering some explanations for this seemingly unique behaviour it has highlighted the role of the social groups or buddy groups as the focus for the emotional attachment. The constant changes that occur in people’s everyday lives frequently involve the use of mobile phones—even if the people do not have one of their own. The rearranging of appointments, the casual setting up of new ones, the relationships between lovers conducted by text and the reassuring contact between families all have some effect on the individual’s autopoiesis. The multiple roles of the mobile phone in everyday life adds to the complexity of the debate but underlying the functional purposes is this constant and increasing emotional attachment. The assertion that this is in part due to the senses being pierced by all that the device engenders offers some explanation for this emotional attachment and is certainly an area for further study within the mobile communications social sciences and engineering communities. Specialising in the social shaping of mobile communications, she is also studying for a PhD. Prior to joining DWRC in 2001 she worked for twenty years in the European mobile communications industry.     

On the Gendered Nature of Mobile Phone Culture in Israel

Data from surveys and personal interviews were used to analyze gendered patterns and contexts of the mobile phone use of Israelis. The findings suggest that the mobile phone has become an everyday, highly regarded, multipurpose interpersonal communication device rather than a working tool. Both men and women discussed their perceptions of the role of the mobile phone in their lives in quite a traditional gendered manner—activity and technological appropriation for men and dependency and domesticity for women. At the same time, the actual phoning habits and attitudes of users point to a pattern of domestication of the mobile phone and even feminization of its consumption.     

Mobile telephones, computers, and the internet: sex differences in adolescents' use and attitudes.

This study investigated sex differences in mobile telephone, computer, and Internet use and attitudes via self-report questionnaires in 15 and 16 year olds. Significant sex differences were reported for use and computer anxiety, and use and Internet attitudes, although both females and males were generally competent and frequent users of both technologies. No sex differences were reported for either general mobile phone use or expertise, although analysis of specific aspects of use indicated that the sexes favored different phone activities.     

压力知觉对大学生手机成瘾的影响：自我控制和学习倦怠的序列中介效应

为考察自我控制、学习倦怠在压力知觉与手机成瘾之间的序列中介效应,运用压力知觉量表、自我控制量表、学习倦怠量表和手机成瘾量表对946名大学生进行调查,结果表明：(1) 压力知觉与手机成瘾呈显著正相关;(2) 自我控制在压力知觉与大学生手机成瘾倾向之间起中介作用;(3)学习倦怠在压力知觉与大学生手机成瘾倾向之间起中介作用;(4) 压力知觉通过自我控制和学习倦怠的序列中介作用对大学生手机成瘾倾向产生影响。     

A Comparative Empirical Study on Mobile ICT Services,Social Responsibility and the Protection of Children

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the Spanish mobile phone industry to determine how mobile phone companies and certain institutions can improve protection for children who use mobile phones. We carried out a multivariate statistical analysis using anonymous primary data from mobile phone companies, and institutions and associations that protect children, to compare these stakeholders’ opinions and to put forward solutions. We proved that, even though some European countries have made an effort to provide safer ICT services, all stakeholders still need to cooperate and agree on solutions to the commercial problems associated with children using mobile phones. This can be done by signing codes of conduct. We found that even though some companies implement measures to protect children from accessing harmful content via their mobile phones, they do so for reasons of legal and not social responsibility.     

Back from the beach but hanging on the telephone? English adolescents' attitudes and experiences of mobile phones and the internet.

Recently, a number of commentators have suggested that growth in use of the Internet may be slowing, and its impact may have been exaggerated. However, a disproportionate number of the nonusers tend to be those over the age of 50, and the young are most likely to go online eventually. Therefore, the most appropriate people to survey with regard to Internet use are adolescents and young adults who are likely to be the Internet users or nonusers of the future. This survey was conducted to find out more about the activities and opinions of secondary-school aged children who do, and do not, use the Internet. Mobile phone use was also examined in this survey as this has also shown a meteoric rise in adults and more particularly in young people. Generally, the survey revealed that children aged between 11 and 16 years old are quite comfortable with the Internet, use it a moderate amount and for a variety of purposes. However, boys were more likely to use the Internet than girls and sometimes for slightly different purposes. Reasons for not using the Internet generally revolved around a lack of access to equipment. Furthermore, a higher percentage of adolescents have mobile phones than adults and girls are more likely to own a mobile phone than boys. Mobile phones were also used for a variety of purposes, most notably making and receiving calls and text-messaging. The most common reasons for children not owning a mobile phone was because they had no need for one. Finally, a significant positive relationship between the use of emails and text messaging suggests that the mobile phone may supplement some of the previous functions of the Internet.     

Causal relationship between Internet use and social capital in Japan

Based on longitudinal data collected from a random sample panel survey, the present study found that different types of Internet usage are differentially related to social networks. The more social ties people have, the more likely they are to use personal computer (PC) email, and the use of PC email increases social ties. The results also show that the more supportive ties people have, the more they tend to use mobile phone email; however, it does not prove the use of mobile phone email increases supportive ties. However, participation in an online community is not related social networks. These findings suggest that PC email may increase the size of personal social networks, whereas mobile phone email is useful in maintaining existing strong ties which provide social support.     

大学生手机成瘾与孤独感、手机使用动机的关系

为探讨手机成瘾与孤独感、手机使用动机的关系,采用手机成瘾指数量表、UCLA孤独量表和手机使用动机问卷对442名大学生进行测量,并综合运用相关分析、多元方差分析和路径分析考察变量间的关系。结果发现：孤独感影响手机成瘾的路径有两条：一是直接预测大学生的手机成瘾,二是通过网娱动机间接预测手机成瘾。研究表明孤独感是影响手机成瘾的重要因素,对大学生手机成瘾的干预可以从降低孤独感入手。     

大学生手机互联网依赖对疏离感的影响：社会支持系统的作用

为探讨大学生手机依赖、现实社会支持、网络社会支持及疏离感的关系。采用大学生手机成瘾倾向量表、青少年疏离感量表、大学生网络社会支持量表和青少年社会支持量表对442 名大学生进行测量。结果发现：（1）不同手机依赖水平与疏离感差异显著,高手机依赖者的疏离感均显著高于低手机依赖者;（2）手机依赖对疏离感有显著正向预测作用,网络社会支持和现实社会支持对疏离感有显著负向预测作用;（3）现实社会支持在手机依赖与疏离感间具有中介效应和调节效应,手机依赖既直接对疏离感产生影响,又通过现实社会支持对疏离感产生影响,中介效应占总效应的比例为17.8%;（4）现实社会支持和网络社会支持在手机依赖与疏离感间均具有调节效应,可以缓冲手机依赖对疏离感的影响。     

中学生手机线上交流与手机成瘾的关系：社会资本和手机关系需要满足的中介作用

采用问卷对3268名中学生进行调查,以探讨手机线上交流（陌生人、熟人）、社会资本、手机关系需要满足与手机成瘾之间的关系,结果显示：（1）中学生手机线上交流（陌生人、熟人）能直接正向预测手机成瘾;（2）当对象为陌生人时,中学生手机线上交流能够通过手机关系需要满足间接预测手机成瘾;（3）中学生线上交流（陌生人、熟人）能通过社会资本经手机关系需要的多重中介作用来预测手机成瘾。（4）当对象为熟人时,线上交流通过社会资本、手机关系需要预测手机成瘾的作用更显著。这些研究结果可以为预防与干预中学生手机成瘾提供参考价值。     

手机成瘾与抑郁：社交焦虑和负性情绪信息注意偏向的多重中介作用

为考察手机成瘾与抑郁的关系, 研究同时整合情绪和认知两方面因素, 探讨了社交焦虑和负性情绪信息注意偏向在手机成瘾和抑郁之间的多重中介作用。研究1共有545名大学生完成了大学生手机成瘾倾向量表、贝克抑郁量表和社会交往焦虑量表。研究2选取51名大学生采用问卷法和2(配对面孔表情的情绪类型: 负性、中性) × 2(探测点位置: 与负性情绪面孔表情同侧、与负性情绪面孔表情异侧)的被试内实验设计。结果表明: (1)手机成瘾、社交焦虑和抑郁两两间存在显著正相关, 且社交焦虑在手机成瘾和抑郁之间起完全中介作用; (2)社交焦虑和负性情绪信息注意偏向在手机成瘾与抑郁的关系中起链式中介作用, 而负性情绪信息注意偏向在手机成瘾与抑郁间的单独中介效应不显著。具体而言, 手机成瘾通过两条路径影响抑郁: 一是社交焦虑的单独中介作用; 二是社交焦虑→负性情绪信息注意偏向的链式中介作用。     

Remote control,umbilical cord and beyond: The mobile phone as a transitional object

This paper investigates mobile phone use as a medium of inter‐generational communication. Research on teenage mobile phone use has tended to focus on its peer group functionality. In this paper, the mobile phone is examined as a transitional object in parent–teen interrelationships. Specifically, drawing on ethnographic work conducted in Israel among teenagers between 2000 and 2006, the paper focuses on mobile telephones as physical objects that can connect people and mediate relationships. It is shown that, for parents and their teenage children, the mobile phone is important more for the possibility of communication and less for the text or voice conversation it actually carries. Analysis focuses also on the role of the mobile phone in enabling inter‐generational distance and intimacy, attending to the complicated ways in which the mobile phone is employed by parents and their teenage children. It is argued that the analysis of mobile phone practices needs to take directly into account the specific cultural contexts of production and consumption, as culture, technology and family mutually shape one another.     

Mobile phone use while driving-literary review

This paper analysis published results of the research into the connection between mobile phone use while driving and traffic safety. Ever since the introduction of the first mobile phones, the authors have been examining the risks associated with its use in traffic, namely: prevalence or frequency of mobile phone use while driving, characteristics of drivers who make more frequent use of mobile phones, the connection between mobile phone use while driving and a car crash risk, a link between mobile phone use while driving and perception of risk, effects on driving performance of using various modes of mobile phones while driving (“hands-free” or “hand-held”), psychological factors influencing driver's decision to use a mobile phone while driving, etc.It is important to point out that the results of some studies indicate that using a hands-free mobile phone while driving does not provide greater safety as compared to the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving. Generally speaking, younger male drivers tend to use mobile phones more often while driving than women and older males.This paper analyses the results of studies which were published in 60 papers from 1994 to 2013.The analysis of the papers selected for research confirms detrimental effects of mobile phone use while driving. Also, four phases in the process of understanding the issue of mobile phone use impacts while driving have been established or identified. The first phase gives the analysis of the prevalence or frequency of mobile phone use while driving. The second phase identifies the characteristics of drivers who tend to use mobile phones more frequently while driving. The third phase concerns research into impacts of using different modes of mobile phones while driving on driving performance (“hands-free” or “hand-held”). Finally, the fourth phase deals with research into risks of mobile phone use while driving (“hands-free” or “hand-held”). The importance of this paper is reflected in that it can help traffic safety policy makers, on the basis of better understanding of the issue of mobile phone use impact while driving, to develop effective strategies aimed at reducing the extent of mobile phone use while driving.     

孤独感和手机成瘾的关系:一项元分析

孤独感与手机成瘾均是当下生活中较为常见的现象, 诸多研究基于不同的理论视角探讨了两者间的内在联系, 但研究结果却存在很大分歧。为明确两者之间的整体关系, 以及产生分歧的原因, 对检索后获得的121项研究(124个效应值)使用随机效应模型进行了元分析。结果发现:孤独感与手机成瘾存在中等程度的正相关(r = 0.25, 95% CI = [0.23, 0.27]); 两者的相关性受被试年龄群体的调节, 成年人群体中的相关系数显著高于青少年群体, 但两者的相关性不受性别、孤独感和手机成瘾测量工具的影响。结果表明孤独感与手机成瘾关系密切, 支持了补偿性网络使用理论和自我调节缺陷模型。未来应加强纵向研究或实验研究进一步揭示孤独感与手机成瘾的作用方向。     

“I need to skip a song because it sucks”: Exploring mobile phone use while driving among young adults

BackgroundMobile phone use while driving is a well-recognized area of concern. However, while texting/calling among young adult drivers has received much research attention, more research is needed regarding other phone functions used by young adults while driving.Study aimTo explore mobile phone functions used by young adult drivers while driving.ResultsAn online survey of 17–24 year old drivers (N = 612; 428 females) and focus groups with drivers aged (N = 18; 8 females) revealed that mobile phone use while driving was a very common behavior, with more full licence drivers compared with Learner/Provisional drivers using their phone to make/answer calls, send/read text messages and for internet browsing. This nature of mobile phone use while driving was varied, with phones commonly used for entertainment (e.g., to play music), to connect with others (via texting and/or voice calls) and for navigation.Concluding remarksYoung adults use a variety of functions on their phone while driving. It is important that young driver-targeted intervention efforts acknowledge that multiple functions of the mobile phone are used during the drive and it serves multiple purposes. Examining the inhibitors and facilitators of mobile phone use and its various functions while driving is needed, in addition to elucidating if the usage of particular mobile phone functions is similar across different driver cohorts.     

Mobile phone use while driving in Finland

Mobile phones represent one of the most common distractions for drivers and phone use while driving is particularly problematic in Finland. The aim of this research was to explore the Finnish sample of responses from ESRA2 (E-Survey of Road users' Attitudes) with a specific focus on the distracting behaviours related to mobile phone usage while driving. ESRA2 data is derived from online surveys amongst a representative sample of the adult populations in each participating country. In total a sample of 994 responses were collected in Finland for ESRA2, which included 703 responses from participants who held a driver’s licence and reported driving a car in the 30 days prior to the survey.The results provide evidence of the problematic usage of mobile phones while driving in Finland. Mobile phone use was considered across three specific types of usage: (1) handheld phone calls while driving; (2) handsfree phone calls while driving; (3) texting, emailing or social media use while driving. Almost half (49.4 %) of the sample reported using a handheld mobile phone to make a call while driving at least once in the 30 days prior to the survey. A similar percentage (41.4 %) of the sample had used a phone hands-free and 35.6 % had texted, emailed, or used social media.The study highlights how mobile phone usage is a complex and multifaceted issue and that there are a broad range of underlying factors that influence mobile phone usage depending on the way in which people engage with their mobile phone while driving. The findings suggest that a systematic approach to reducing mobile phone distraction is needed that addresses the issue through a combination of legislation, enforcement, and education.