When interviewing Trevor and Jordan, I gained some additional perspectives that were different from the other group that was interviewed. Both young men expressed that they prefer to text or snapchat their friends over the choice of a phone call.
Both of these students also, felt a hesitation about making phone calls, or speaking to a stranger in person. They expressed anxiety and apprehension about making a phone call because you don't know what could be said or occur. Jordan explained his preference of texting because you can read through what you want to say, and re-read conversations over and over. This is helpful when experiencing a funny moment with a friend, the conversation is saved forever. Jordan's enjoyment for texting with his friends, provides a common interest and means of interpersonal communication. Trevor mentioned that he uses texting with his family members even when in the same location as them. He described it as a way to have private conversations no one else can hear. In this case, his use of his mobile device is helping to solidify and enhance his interpersonal communication with his family.
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Four students from Media and Society volunteered their time to answer several questions concerning their personal mobile devices, and how they use it to communicate with peers and family.
Generally, the students found that they check their phones fairly often, nearly once every 20 minutes. They explained that they checked their phones to see if anyone was trying to contact them, out of habit, and just to scroll through social media. These college students communicated a specific way based off of the decided method of their friend group. Some friends preferred to text, whilst others preferred to snap chat. The students explained that their parents typically would call them rather than text message. The students elaborated, that their parents were much more comfortable talking over the phone, were not very skilled at texting, as well as just preferred phone conversation. One student mentioned face time, and how her grandparent preferred to use face time, because of the virtual face-to-face interaction. Due to the students being from the college of communication, they said they were fairly comfortable talking to a stranger in person. When asked if they would ever talk to a stranger online, they seemed surprised that I would ask. They definitely have grown up in the media world, with an understanding of online predators, cat-fishing, and stranger danger. The students interviewed would not give up speaking face-to-face for texting, if only being allowed to chose one means of communication. However, these students expressed an enjoyment of being able to text, because it it is less intrusive than a phone call, it can be answered on the receiver's own time, and is less stressful than a phone call. Today I went to several locations around campus and observed students for one hour chunks of time. I focused on looking at when they pick up their phones, if they seem to be reading, and scrolling or actively texting. My locations varied in the amount of academic work being done, however, student's habits of checking their phones remained consistent. J Pad-Johnston Hall: In the J-Pad most students were working individually. Even if they had papers strewn all over they made sure they had their phone easily accessible sitting on the table top or their lap. About every 20 minutes students would light up the screen of their phone, and scroll for about one minute and then return to their work. It is possible that students were checking time, and then were checking to see if they were contacted. Another posibility is that students were scrolling through their feed in social media. Raynor Bridge: In the bridge there was much more talking and interacting between people. No one is allowed to speak on the phone on the bridge, there are signs stating so, as a result, students would walk and leave to just outside the doors to have a phone conversations. But again, about every 15-20 minutes students all over would access their mobile device, to check it. Although I did not interview the students I observed, it was clear that they felt a strong attachemnt to the proximity of their phone as well as a need to constantly check it. Brew Bayou Cafe-AMU: This environment was less academic and more social. Students were sitting in groups chatting with friends. Despite the social interaction, many students scrolled through their phones while talking to peers. Additionally, they shared the content from their phone's screen with each other. They would share photos, gifs, memes and possibly news. I found it interesting that students chose to continue to check their mobile devices while in the company of peers. Overall, students seem to have a need to check their phones, but do not seem to be actively communicating on it. Rather they seem to all be hoping they are receiving a text, an instant message or an update that someone liked a post, or retweeted a tweet. This desire for others to reach out, or the need for self gratification seemed consistent throughout the various locations. |
Carly KrollA Graduate Student persuing a career in academia. Focusing on interpersonal communication, technology and media. ArchivesCategories |