scholarly journals GIRLS, GADGETS AND GATEKEEPERS: HOW GENDER AND CLASS ASPIRATIONS SHAPE ADOLESCENT ACCESS TO MOBILE PHONES IN MUMBAI, INDIA

Author(s):  
Isha Bhallamudi

Within a patriarchal, caste-based and restrictive family setup, how do gender and class work together to shape adolescent girls’ access to mobile phones in Mumbai, India? How do adolescent girls mediate their own independent aspirations and desires to variously fit within or subvert these frameworks of class stability and social morality? This paper addresses these question by using a mixed-methods study of 59 group interviews and 278 surveys with adolescents aged 13-15 in Mumbai. Taking an intersectional analytical framework, the findings show how gender and class together, create varying standards of respectable femininity and class distinction that families aspire to and cultivate in adolescent girls. The mobile phone can be seen as both a threat and a necessity to the maintenance of these standards of respectability, resulting in families variously enabling or constraining access to mobile phones by girls. Rather than interpreting the findings through binaries of lower-class/upper-class or empowered/constrained, I instead consider how classed ideals of respectable femininity create different aspirational conditions for girls belonging to each class group, and form the cultural frames of everyday life. I explore what implications this might have for adolescents girls’ understandings and enactments of independence, and how they use the site of the mobile phone to make these enactments.

2019 ◽  
pp. 643-660
Author(s):  
Barry Ardley ◽  
Jialin Hardwick ◽  
Lauriane Delarue ◽  
Nick Taylor

Focusing on the mobile phones sector, this study explores how the social networking site ‘Facebook' is used by consumers in their purchasing. Although there is extensive work on the influences on the buying decision process relevant to mobile phone purchasing, it is mainly set outside of a social media context. This paper assists in filling a gap in contemporary research, revealing the presence of different behavioural segments on Facebook. The authors analyse the consumer decision sequence in response to the notion of ‘brand presence', manifested through online advertising, fan and group pages. The approach is interpretative. The study is based on young professional user's experiences, collected through semi-structured individual and focus group interviews. The findings show that Facebook fan pages are shown to have a degree of influence, particularly in the early stages of buying behaviour. In this context, five novel behavioural segments of consumer interactions with Smartphone brands on Facebook have been identified by the research. These are the Avoider, the Suspicious, the Passive, the Receptive, and the Active. Future research of cross comparative studies could be taken on the issues the authors examine and consider them in relation to not only Facebook, but additionally, to other social network sites. Companies could utilise the findings in the future development of social media strategy. The research highlights the socially networked and collective nature of much activity on Facebook, which impacts on the consumer decision-making process for mobile phones.


2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 244-274
Author(s):  
David Schmidtz

We are all equal, sort of. We are not equal in terms of our physical or mental capacities. Morally speaking, we are not all equally good. Evidently, if we are equal, it is not in virtue of our actual characteristics, but despite them. Our equality is of a political rather than metaphysical nature. We do not expect people to be the same, but we expect differences to have no bearing on how people ought to be treated as citizens. Or when differences do matter, we expect that they will not matter in the sense of being a basis for class distinction. We admire tenacity, talent, and so on, but do not take such features to entitle their bearers to be treated as “upper class.” Neither are people who are relatively lacking in these features obliged to tolerate being treated as “lower class.” As a society, we have made moral progress. Such progress consists in part of progress toward political and cultural equality.


2021 ◽  
Vol VI (IV) ◽  
pp. 105-112
Author(s):  
Fatima Yousuf ◽  
Naveed Ahmad Taseer ◽  
Rukhshanda Mushtaq

Society is a combination of the upper and the lower class:The upper class or Bourgeoisie is busy in their world endeavors and their quest for 'more and more; whereas, in contrast, the lower class or proletariat strives for a proper one-time meal. Over time, this disparity between the classes gets horrible. The drastic consequences of this disparity become observable in society in hatred and injustice. Different authors of colonial India have jotted down social imbalances of the subcontinent, including Zakia Mashhadi. Her short story, ‘The Cover Faces’,extracted from an English translated collection ‘In Search of Butterflies’ by Saeed Naqvi (2017), was taken for qualitative textual analysis under Lois Tyson’s (2006) ‘Theory of Class Distinction’. Zakia Mashhadi showed the two parallel classes in society, where Bourgeoisie have almost everything;however, in the same society, Bourgeoisie even deprived the proletariat of the fundamental rights and necessities of life


10.2196/12407 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. e12407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy R Ryan-Pettes ◽  
Lindsay L Lange ◽  
Katherine I Magnuson

Background Improvements in parenting practices can positively mediate the outcomes of treatment for adolescent substance use disorder. Given the high rates of release among adolescents (ie, 60% within three months and 85% within one year), there is a critical need for interventions focused on helping parents achieve and maintain effective parenting practices posttreatment. Yet, research suggests that engaging parents in aftercare services is difficult, partly due to systemic-structural and personal barriers. One way to increase parent use of aftercare services may be to offer mobile health interventions, given the potential for wide availability and on-demand access. However, it remains unclear whether mobile phone–based aftercare support for caregivers of substance-using teens is feasible or desired. Therefore, formative work in this area is needed. Objective This study aims to determine the feasibility and acceptability of mobile phone–based aftercare support in a population of caregivers with teens in treatment for substance use. Methods Upon enrollment in a treatment program, 103 caregivers completed a mobile phone use survey, providing information about mobile phone ownership, access, and use. Caregivers also provided a response to items assessing desire for aftercare services, in general; desire for mobile phone–based aftercare services specifically; and desire for parenting specific content as part of aftercare services. Research assistants also monitored clinic calls made to caregivers’ mobile phones to provide an objective measure of the reliability of phone service. Results Most participants were mothers (76.7%) and self-identified as Hispanic (73.8%). The average age was 42.60 (SD 9.28) years. A total of 94% of caregivers owned a mobile phone. Most had pay-as-you-go phone service (67%), and objective data suggest this did not impede accessibility. Older caregivers more frequently had a yearly mobile contract. Further, older caregivers and caregivers of adolescent girls had fewer disconnections. Bilingual caregivers used text messaging less often; however, caregivers of adolescent girls used text messaging more often. Although 72% of caregivers reported that aftercare was needed, 91% of caregivers endorsed a desire for mobile phone–based aftercare support in parenting areas that are targets of evidence-based treatments. Conclusions The results suggest that mobile phones are feasible and desired to deliver treatments that provide support to caregivers of teens discharged from substance use treatment. Consideration should be given to the age of caregivers when designing these programs. Additional research is needed to better understand mobile phone use patterns based on a child’s gender and among bilingual caregivers.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy R Ryan-Pettes ◽  
Lindsay L Lange ◽  
Katherine I Magnuson

BACKGROUND Improvements in parenting practices can positively mediate the outcomes of treatment for adolescent substance use disorder. Given the high rates of release among adolescents (ie, 60% within three months and 85% within one year), there is a critical need for interventions focused on helping parents achieve and maintain effective parenting practices posttreatment. Yet, research suggests that engaging parents in aftercare services is difficult, partly due to systemic-structural and personal barriers. One way to increase parent use of aftercare services may be to offer mobile health interventions, given the potential for wide availability and on-demand access. However, it remains unclear whether mobile phone–based aftercare support for caregivers of substance-using teens is feasible or desired. Therefore, formative work in this area is needed. OBJECTIVE This study aims to determine the feasibility and acceptability of mobile phone–based aftercare support in a population of caregivers with teens in treatment for substance use. METHODS Upon enrollment in a treatment program, 103 caregivers completed a mobile phone use survey, providing information about mobile phone ownership, access, and use. Caregivers also provided a response to items assessing desire for aftercare services, in general; desire for mobile phone–based aftercare services specifically; and desire for parenting specific content as part of aftercare services. Research assistants also monitored clinic calls made to caregivers’ mobile phones to provide an objective measure of the reliability of phone service. RESULTS Most participants were mothers (76.7%) and self-identified as Hispanic (73.8%). The average age was 42.60 (SD 9.28) years. A total of 94% of caregivers owned a mobile phone. Most had pay-as-you-go phone service (67%), and objective data suggest this did not impede accessibility. Older caregivers more frequently had a yearly mobile contract. Further, older caregivers and caregivers of adolescent girls had fewer disconnections. Bilingual caregivers used text messaging less often; however, caregivers of adolescent girls used text messaging more often. Although 72% of caregivers reported that aftercare was needed, 91% of caregivers endorsed a desire for mobile phone–based aftercare support in parenting areas that are targets of evidence-based treatments. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that mobile phones are feasible and desired to deliver treatments that provide support to caregivers of teens discharged from substance use treatment. Consideration should be given to the age of caregivers when designing these programs. Additional research is needed to better understand mobile phone use patterns based on a child’s gender and among bilingual caregivers.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 158-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Montag ◽  
Konrad Błaszkiewicz ◽  
Bernd Lachmann ◽  
Ionut Andone ◽  
Rayna Sariyska ◽  
...  

In the present study we link self-report-data on personality to behavior recorded on the mobile phone. This new approach from Psychoinformatics collects data from humans in everyday life. It demonstrates the fruitful collaboration between psychology and computer science, combining Big Data with psychological variables. Given the large number of variables, which can be tracked on a smartphone, the present study focuses on the traditional features of mobile phones – namely incoming and outgoing calls and SMS. We observed N = 49 participants with respect to the telephone/SMS usage via our custom developed mobile phone app for 5 weeks. Extraversion was positively associated with nearly all related telephone call variables. In particular, Extraverts directly reach out to their social network via voice calls.


Author(s):  
Huyen Thi Nguyen ◽  
Ngoc Minh Nguyen

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of prestige sensitivity on mobile phone customer’s price acceptance in Vietnam and the mediating role of product knowledge and price mavenism on this relationship. We used the convenience sampling method for data collection via questionnaires with a sample of 605 consumers who purchased mobile phones. The collected data was analysed by applying a structural equation modelling method. The result indicates that prestige sensitivity has both direct and indirect effects on price acceptance via product knowledge and price mavenism. The findings suggest that prestige sensitivity can be used as a market segmentation criterion for mobile phones when making price decisions and providing customers with adequate information could improve price acceptance.


Author(s):  
Laura Stark

This chapter surveys and analyzes recent literature on mobile communication to examine its relationship to gender and development, more specifically how women in developing countries use and are impacted by mobile phones. Focusing on issues of power, agency, and social status, the chapter reviews how mobile telephony has been found to be implicated in patriarchal bargaining in different societies, how privacy and control are enabled through it, what benefits have been shown to accrue to women using mobile phones, and what barriers, limitations, and disadvantages of mobile use exist for women and why. The conclusion urges more gender-disaggregated analysis of mobile phone impact and use and offers policy and design recommendations based on the overview and discussion.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Pizzo ◽  
C Costantino ◽  
D Giliberti ◽  
I Calò ◽  
C Vella ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Nowadays, smartphone overuse affects massively teenagers and young adults. From 2014 to 2018 in Italy, for the 11-17 years age group, there has been an increase from 79.9% to 85.8% of daily mobile phone users. This project aims to investigate usage prevalence and misuse/addiction of mobile phones in a representative sample of first-grade secondary school students of the Province of Palermo, Italy, carrying out educational interventions to promote a proper and conscious use of smartphone. Materials and Methods An anonymous, standardized and previously validated pre-intervention questionnaire consisting of 39 items on general socio-demographic characteristics, attitudes and habits regarding smartphone usage, was administered online to 10-15 years old students of the Palermo's Province. Moreover, two additional sets of 11 and 15 items contributed to calculate a Misuse and an Addiction Score, respectively. After administration, educational interventions aimed at promoting the correct and conscious use of the smartphone, were carried out. Results A total of 1600 students belonging to 16 schools, responded to the questionnaire. 93% of the sample had a personal smartphone and 84% had a personal profile on at least one social network. About 15% of the sample experienced cyber bullying episodes and 30% accessed to adult content online (38% of parents didn't set parental control on the devices). Overall, 78.3% of the sample showed a moderate to severe misuse and 38.3% a moderate to severe addiction to mobile phones. Conclusions The uncontrolled and unconscious use of smartphones among adolescents exposes to different health risks including psycho-social and cognitive-relational problems. Results obtained demonstrate high levels of misuse and addiction to mobile devices in a representative sample of students in a developed Country, suggesting the need to implement educational interventions and the development of guidelines to encourage a responsible use of smartphones. Key messages The present study highlights an uncontrolled and unconscious use of mobile phones among 11-15 years old aged students in Southern Italy. The implementation of educational intervention at school and the development of guidelines regulating smartphone usage among adolescents, should represent a future global health priority.


Safety ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Miroslava Mikusova ◽  
Joanna Wachnicka ◽  
Joanna Zukowska

The topic of the use of mobile devices and headphones on pedestrian crossings is much less explored in comparison to the use of the mobile phone while driving. Recent years have seen many discussions on this issue, especially in foreign countries. The Slovak Republic, however, has not been giving it enough attention (and it is not mentioned in the National Road Safety Plan for the Slovak Republic from 2011 to 2020). This paper aims to draw attention to this issue. It presents basic outputs of a pilot study on pedestrian safety, with a focus on the use of mobile devices and headphones at selected non-signalized pedestrian crossings in three Slovak cities. Overall, 9% of pedestrians used headphones or mobile devices at observed pedestrian crossings (4% of them used headphones, 1% used headphones and at same time used their mobile phone, 2% made phone calls and 2% used their mobile phones). While these numbers can be considered relatively low, the study proved that during weekdays every 2 min someone was using the crossing without fully focusing on crossing the road safely. Another main finding was that although the safety risk at pedestrian crossings is increased by factors such as rush hour traffic or reduced visibility, pedestrian behavior related to the use of mobile phones and headphones does not change. A safety assessment was also carried out at the crossings. The results show that pedestrian behavior is not affected by the level of safety of the crossing (e.g., visibility of the crossing for drivers). The results of the presented analysis suggest that action is needed to change that. Due to the lack of information about accidents involving pedestrians using mobile phones and headsets when crossing the road, no relevant statistical data could be analyzed. The dataset collected can be used as a basis for further investigation or comparisons with other countries of the relevant indicators. In future work, we would like to include a pedestrian–driver interaction factor focusing on driver speed behavior in relation to pedestrians (who are on or are about to step onto a pedestrian crossing) and identify critical situations caused by improper behavior of drivers and/or pedestrians. This will help to understand speed adjustment problems related to pedestrian crossings.


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