2. Framework
 The digital divide phenomena described by Peter and Valkenburg
(2006:297) states that the “adolescent’s use of the internet for
(2006:297) ‐ states that the adolescent s use of the internet, for
example, will depend on their socio‐economic, cognitive, and
cultural resources”…
 Rojas et al. (2010:4‐5) state that to understand an individual’s
disposition toward a technology a number of “combinations of
notably,
interrelated factors or characteristics should be analyzed – notably
economic capital, cultural capital, linguistic capital, ethnicity, age and
gender”.
 The authors also affirm that an individual’s relationship with technology
involves indicators as social practices, perceptions and attitudes,
technical education, awareness of technology, desire for information,
job requirements, social relations, community interactions, and
geographic location.

3. Framework
 Livingstone (2007:4) reminds us that “technological innovation requires
a recurrent investment of money, time and effort on the part of the
general public and, in this process, social stratification continues to
matter”.
 Geser (
G (2004:6) considers the mobile phone as capable of bridging
6) id h bil h bl f b id i
some gaps between different social classes, once they are adopted
irrespective of education and family background.
 On the other hand…“Mobile phones may still accentuate social
inequalities insofar as their factual usage patterns are tightly
correlated with the various purposes of social actions, as well as with
correlated with the various purposes of social actions as well as with
different situations, social relationships and social roles” (Geser,
2004:6).
 The mobile phone is at the heart of the daily interactions of a family
because it allows members to contact one another at any time (Caron
7 )
and Caronia 2007:60).

4. Sample
p
 130 people (65 families) were interviewed; 13 families were selected according
to the age of the younger member interviewed, from 15 to 18 years old. The
younger members were six boys and seven girls, all of them students.
 The group of adults is formed for 13 parents, 12 of them from 37 to 49 years old
and one mother that is 28 years old. Among these parents five have University
and one mother that is 28 years old Among these parents five have University
degree, three have high school level completed and one incomplete and four
have 9 years or less of schooling.
 Questions:.
 What are the uses young people and adults‐ children and parents‐
What are the uses young people and adults children and parents make of
their mobile phones? Do these uses diverge? How?
 Does “cost” have any influences in the uses parents and children make of their
mobile phones?
 Does the educational level of parents have any influence in the uses of mobile
phones?

5. Family members and their uses
y
 The incorporation of the mobile phones is really intense among these young
people, more than among their parents. The mobile phone seems to be one
of the first in the list.
“I have the mobile phone always at hand….” (18, female, assiduous internet
user).
user)
 Also parents’ discourses give us an idea of how incorporated in their daily
routines the mobile phones are: what the mobile phone means for them and
how they handle this technology. For example:
“I am a disaster with the mobile phone, it’s always turned off (laugh). When
people want to call me they can t because I always have that turned off… (41,
people want to call me they can’t because I always have that turned off ”(41
male, assiduous internet user).
“Today I’ve lost one mobile phone…I have three, but today I’ve lost hers (the
younger daughter’s 10 years old)”(37, female, never uses the internet).
 Some young people mentioned the dependence of the mobile phone, as a
real need to be with the device all the time to feel connected with friends,
sending SMS and calling.

6. USES Young people Adults
Calls Make calls and send/receive a lot of Adults prefer to make calls which
SMS daily. Being in touch with remind the use of the fixed telephone.
SMS (text friends and also with family is Only few parents know how to
messagin something really relevant.
i thi ll l t send/read text messages. They don’t
d d h d
g) like it and prefer calling.
Music The majority states listening a lot of Only one mother affirmed listening to
music through their mobile phones. music.
Cameras Something common and many of Some of them show some interest in
them mentioned using the cameras cameras and taking photographs.
of their mobile phone frequently. Although some say it’s rare to take
pictures it’s still more common for
them to take pictures than sending
SMS.
Internet Only two mentioned using the Only one mother had tried before, but
internet on their mobile phone considered the service expensive and
sometimes. Others, although stopped using it.
having the possibility of doing it do
not use it because of the
t it b f th
price/costs.

7.  Young people
 “I use the mobile phone to talk to my family or to communicate with friends
h bil h lk f il i i hf i d
through text messages.” (17, female, sometimes uses the internet)
 “When I go somewhere, I take a picture to keep as a memory. I also take pictures
When I go somewhere, I take a picture to keep as a memory. I also take pictures
of my family…” (17, female, sometimes uses the internet).
 (Does your mobile phone have internet?) “Yes, but I don’t use it… it spends a
lot…it’s expensive.” (15, male, assiduous internet user)
 Mothers
 “Because as I’m telling you I don’t have much empathy with the machines I
Because, as I m telling you, I don t have much empathy with the machines... I
prefer to talk and listen to people. Sometimes people send SMS, but I am not
accustomed to going there and reading it”(46, female, sometimes uses the
internet).
 “It has so many things! It has a camera, internet, radio, MP3, it makes video calls,
other stuff…it s a 3G… … I use it for everything! (39, female, rarely uses the
other stuff…it’s a 3G…”…”I use it for everything!”(39, female, rarely uses the
internet).
 “I once used it for a month, but I used just a little, because I thought I was paying
too much for a service I used so little.” (47, female, assiduous internet user, about
using internet).

8.  Simple use vs. great potential
 The majority of interviewees was just interested in being able to keep
contact with the family and with the outside world.
 Some adolescents showed a really simple use, either because their
device is too simple and does not allow any other activities (like having
no camera) and this restricts the use these people make, or also
because they were simply not interested in doing special things with
b h i l i di d i i l hi ih
it:
“…It s a basic phone, one of those cheap ones that I only have to send
It’s a basic phone one of those cheap ones that I only have to send
messages and make calls. Just it, nothing else.” (15, female, sometimes
uses the internet).
“My mobile phone has a camera, voice recorder, MP3, two SIM cards.
Basically, what do I do with it? I receive and make calls and nothing else.
Ah, and sometimes I take some pictures. Thus, although it is really
sophisticated it is just used to receive and make calls nothing else” (42
sophisticated it is just used to receive and make calls, nothing else (42,
female, assiduous internet user).

9. Some final remarks
 Economic capital matters in the way these families use their devices
but cultural capital also plays a fundamental role.
 Some young people make really simple use of their devices: the
purpose of contact, followed by entertainment, the way their family
handle with new technologies or even a taste/personal question of
g /p q
relevance, once these young people may have other interests that they
consider more important at the moment and only use the technologies
to get to them.
to get to them
 When trying to understand why (some) young people have a wider
exploration of some of the applications we have to take into
consideration their peer relationships.
d h l i hi
 Young people are generally the ones who master and try to convey
this techno knowledge at home, which can be received or not,
this techno‐knowledge at home, which can be received or not,
according to the disposition of the members of the family.

10.  On the other hand, the older members in general do not conceive the
mobile phones as a means of entertainment and are attached to the
device as a phone itself (age matters, but not only).. Others, though
really in low number, have begun to broaden this view and accept the
phone as a device that goes beyond making and receiving calls.
 The incorporation by young people is much more prominent, since they
make references of being with the mobile phone all the time,
communicating with friends or avoiding boredom. Some parents even try
to make it clear that they avoid letting the mobile phone become more
incorporated by not using them or turning them off as soon as they get
home.
 Through this sample we can observe that there was no relation of the
parents’ use of mobile phones with their educational level.
 Parents’ knowledge about handling the device affects the way children
communicate with them (the majority can only call their parents).
 Most of these family members are completely apart of a convergent use
since they present a poor or none relationship/exchange with other
media technologies, especially internet, with only few exceptions.

11. Thank you!
karitafrancisco@gmail.com