'How Are Mobile Phones Changing the Way People Maintain Relationships\r'

'CULTURAL AWARENESS How atomic number 18 hatefuldering(a) mobilizes changing the trend flock withstand relationships? gate focal point Mobile screams ar progressively taking a study role in the intercourse re naked as a jaybirding and the accustom of the meandering(a) ph matchless is an immensely pro form accessible and ethnic phenomenon, hence over the old age, the yell has dramatic aloney changed how multitude live their lives, go across their humanity and advertise. As we convey in Ferraro ( 2002: 29 ) â€Å" alone cultures experience continual change”, in clip right a look the process of a change is eve to a greater extent intensified, more(prenominal) dynamic and much quicker.A lot of that has to do with the risement of liquid tele ring technology. In referring to the drivers of change, we can non immerse ab proscribed phenomenon of globalization which affects our modern sustenancestyle. In at once’s world we live in a fast-pace , where put forwarding relationships is make difficult by the fact we discombobulate less meter for leader bonding, and colloquy is much rattling limited. Here comes into importance the technology of the spry sound, as it saltations the opportunity to talk to anyone, anywhere at any metre.Since fluent surrounds pay off aim an progressively important shot in favorable interaction, the dissolve of this query project is to gain insight into the rambling technology phenomenon and to understand break off how it affects the port state maintain relationships by linking it to the theoretical bearground of social bodily structure and selective perception. The report consists of four major sections. Firstly, theoretical background bequeath be presented, followed up by the explanation of methodology used.Then the findings of the primary explore will be presented, followed up by an overall analysis of information self-contained. Finally, a conclusion will be give n. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Before analyse the influence that supple call backs suffer had on the counseling the relationships be well-kept, it is crucial to understand the connection mingled with parley and culture. According to Hall (1977) â€Å"Culture is conference and conference is culture”, from which we can deduce that the look we communicate mouthes our culture. then, any transformation in the panache we communicate has an influence on our culture, our perception , our bearing and the social construction. Let us take a look at the social construction. Why does this pattern need to be mentioned? The answers is that we, as members of the society, are set out together ways of seeing things, while at the resembling magazine shaping our expectations and expression. As culture is maintained by social construction, we evolve culture every day. We learned to use peregrine phones on a daily basis, allowting them function insepar equal to(p) intermit of our daily routine.Here an separate concept comes into importance, namely perception. Culture, and at the same time communication, performs an important role in how we compass and understand sealedity. According to gamble and Gamble (1996), (in Samovar et al, 2007: 128-130), we select, interpret and organize data in lay to make sense of our world. And universe exposed to a manage experiences, culture creates similar meaning and behavior, which is birdcalled selective perception. It is genuinely incredible how fast nomadic phones defecate caused a change in social construction and the way quite a little perceive communication and social bonding.Sections down the stairs intend to explain how exactly spry phones are changing the way muckle maintain relationships. methodology In vagabond to find out how the quick technology is influencing the way the relationships are maintained in Britain , several methods were used to study the behavior of spry phone users. Firstly, during a flow rate of 4 weeks, in a variety of settings, using an observation, I sight the behavior of mobile phone users, by earr from each one to their discourses and observing their advent to phone conversations, texting and using their mobile for various innovations.This was followed up by 2 several(prenominal) and 2 focus group discussions. I found the in-depth interviews and focus group discussions well-nigh appropriate for my research, as they gave a lot of qualitative information and let the masses who were being interviewed express themselves and their opinions fully, which would non be the case if I decided to use questionnaires . FINDINGS As indicated before, for the research methods I obtain used an observation, twain in-depth interviews and in any case two focus group discussions.During the period of observation I take over noticed galore(postnominal) different behaviors regarding mobile phone usage, and for the purpose of this report, only the ones whic h apply to the topic have been listed under: * On the bus: 10 out of 25 people were using their phone in sloshed to way * On the bus: 7 out of 25 people received or do a phone call within 45 min time frame * At the university: at least 1/3 of people self-possessed in a mutual area were lecture or texting on their mobiles * In the cafe: exclusively individuals sitting alone had a mobile phone either on the table or in usageIt can be argued that mobile phones are increasingly used by people, for they are newfangled communication tools. Since mobile communication is an uprising issue, the above observations conducted me to bring forth questions for further investigation on how mobile phones are influencing the way people maintain relationships. The ingest for the qualitative research method included 10 people [ potent and distaff] (for both interviews and focus group discussions). The answers were mostly collected from the age group 20-30 years old.All participants were bel ieved to be in a peaceful state, important in concluding the honesty and quality of the answers given as they were unaffected by an unnatural sate of nervousness. To wear out understand how relationships are maintained in today’s society and to get a better view of the issue discussed, first the answerings were asked to describe how they communicate with their family and friends. Their blink of an eye response was via phone calls, text subject matters, facebook, skype, and instant messengers like WhatsApp .Only one soul verbalize that they maintain face to face contact with family. Since the responders indicated mobile phones as means through which they often communicate with their contacts, this initiated a series of questions. Asked how the phones changed/are changing the way people maintain relationships, the respondents said that present tense people maintain more contact, call more, send messages, and claim that it has made the communication very easy.However on the separate progress the contact is possibly superficial as you whitethorn hang in in butt on with people you do not care for as much. A womanly respondent argued that â€Å"It has made people lazy in real aspects, because all you have to do is hen-peck up a phone and call slightlybody instead of making an effort and realize that person. So it has made us lazy, but on the other pot it’s very efficient, especially if you have somewhatthing to do, when you are in a rush. As for the time when people tend to call their contacts, many respondents indicated good afternoon or heretoforeing, saying that they make phone calls or send texts when travelling (primarily walking or when on a bus), because that is when they have some take over time between other activities. As one distaff respondent said â€Å" it’s all slightly time”. The majority of respondents argued that delivering on the phone influences the way we speak to one another and they to a fa ult admitted they do it themselves. Primarily because when on the phone one can get interrupted easily, especially when multi-tasking.Also they argued that you usually make everything briefer on the phone, because when you talk you can be distracted by many things that are happening around you. In the case of new relationships, people tend to be more comfortable and devote over the phone, especially considering text messages. Two female respondents said that it is easier to speak to another person otherwise if you do not unfeignedly do it her/him and in addition said that phones give means to hide certain things that you do not wish to reveal â€Å"because the other person cannot see my face so they do not know what I am odour”.The change in non-verbal communication must withal be mentioned here, as the majority of respondents admitted that they use their phone as an excuse to avoid speaking to mortal. The controversy of the male respondent confirmed that :  "I have pretended I was on the phone when I did not deficiency to talk to someone, you near inadequacy to pretend that you are doing something, it shuts you off, because it is not very socially acceptable to interrupt somebody who is having a conversation”.Furthermore, some respondents claimed they used their phone as a form of security and protection. One male respondent said : â€Å" My friend is everlastingly on the phone when she feels nervous”. A female respondent said that she feels safer knowing she can always call somebody to get tending, or when in the bar waiting for some friends, she claimed she takes phone out to make people think she is busy, using phone as a bodyguard. Respondents were also asked to indicate positive and negative aspects of mobile phone usage in basis of aintaining relationships. As a positive they pointed out the fact that communication has proceed very efficient, easy, cheap, and also allows one to grasp in touch more readily wi th family and friends, to regulate meetings and to develop new relationships. On the other hand respondents indicated that it has been made too easy, â€Å"because we do not even have to go out anymore to meet our friends”. They said the contact is not as real and expertness be taking away some value of a real familiarity.As a male respondent said â€Å"You whitethorn have a long conversation over the phone with someone, hence you meet up in real life and it is like you do not really know each other, you can find awkwardness sometimes. ” Ultimately, the respondents reciprocally agreed on the statement that mobile phones abet maintain relationships. As a female respondent said â€Å"it’s a constant proctor that you are thought process of someone and they are thinking of you, and that you want to stay in their lives, and that is maintaining relationships”.At the end the respondents were asked to express their view on how the social interaction looked like before the mobile phones became so popular. They said that people were sending more letters and cards, than nowadays. Also people used to interact with each other more, however they would meet with less people, only close family and friends that lived nearby. Now, as they confirmed, it is possible to hold in touch with friends that are on the other side of the world, because you are constantly available on the mobile. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGSThe importance of this research is that it explains behavior noticed during the observation and analyses the information gathitherd during the individual interviews and the focus group discussions . After study the subject area, I have found that mobile phones are influencing change of some of the underlying cultural values in Britain, for spokesperson, bonds within close social circles, the meaning of time and communication patterns, which then influences the way people see their reality and perceive certain things and behaviors.As culture is maintained by social construction, we learn culture every day. We learned to use mobile phones on a daily basis, letting them become inseparable part of our daily routine, which created patterns and made them become something which we perceive as frequent. Nowadays, we claim mobiles necessary to socialize, they became a tool for developing new contacts, maintaining a friendship network and arranging meetings. In the last 10-15 years we have been exposed to similar experiences of communication. Mobile phone communication has become as natural as going to the shop and buying bread each morning.Our behavior has been shaped by the regular use of mobile phone, so that many people nowadays cannot imagine to spend a day without it, they even claim they would feel lost without it (Fox, 2001). As we read in â€Å"Towards a sociology of the mobile phone”( McGuigan, 2005), we perceive the mobile phone as an extension to the body, sometimes even feel naked without it. We tend to kee p our phones nearby, in our pocket, in our hand, making us always contactable and available, for someone from our social network.We feel like in that respect is always something to be said and when we get the message we tend to write or call back as soon as possible We did not even noticed that we are increasingly open on the mobile phone technology in terms of social interaction. Mobile phones, as be by this research project and many others, have gained protection and security status. We increasingly depend on our phones in situations of distress, they give us reassurance and sensation of being secure, for instance walking late at night.Why do we feel secure? Well, we can always call somebody, let them know where we are, gain a legal opinion of unreliable reassurance, as the person you have contacted whitethorn be miles away, not really being able to help us in certain situation. On the other hand, phones are used for protection in the situation when we want to avoid contact w ith someone, for instance in a bar or in a coffee shop. When one does not wish to be approached, it is enough to put a phone on the table and look it up from time to time.With the British â€Å"obsession” close privacy, it would be evidently considered rude and socially unacceptable to interrupt someone who is busy. That lead me to consider one of the Hall’s dimensions (Hall, 1976). It may be that communication in Britain is comme il faut more high-context oriented. Mobiles can not only be used as mean of protection, but peradventure also as a barrier. When we do not want to talk to someone we know on the bus, it is enough to pretend we are busy with our mobile. We may acknowledge the other person’s charge but we would immediately go back to looking at the phone.The message is clear to both sides †â€Å"I do not really want to talk right now”. Also , another subject of high context approach is: when a person is not responding to our messages o r phone calls, it may mean that he or she does not wish to speak to us, on the other hand, subtle signal, known as â€Å"giving the buzz”often means â€Å"I am thinking of you”. As we can see in that respect are many examples of high-context communication within mobile phone influence on the way people maintain relationships, however it does not inevitably mean all communication in Britain is graceful high-context.Another change in terms of social construction is that via technology we are now able to keep in touch with more people than before, it is deemed normal to have a large net of social connections. Why is that? Perhaps, the distance seems shorter, because another person is just a phone call away. Before, we used to have more face-to- face interactions, but they were restricted to the close circle of friends and family that lived in the same geographic area. Therefore we maintain more contact, but it is possible it has become much more superficial.Considering the lack of openness in social interaction, mobile phones seem to facilitate social contacts and act like an ice-breaker. It is easy to send a message and it is nice to receive one in return, but the issue to consider is whether we can really count on that person. Mobile phones therefore might be depriving values of real friendship and in fact people may feel very alone, even though they have 300 contacts in their mobile device. There has been a behavioral shift in terms of social construction, for as a society, we have become more lazy and comfortable.As the other person is reachable on their mobile at all times, we have adapted the pattern of duty and not necessarily meeting with friends and family, which can sometimes be dangerous, because it deprives us of developing social skills. It has also been proven that we speak to each other differently on the phone than when talk face to face. Considering there is no visible contact, we cannot see expressions on our wholesalerâ₠¬â„¢s face and his/her body language. People may be making faces and rolling their eyes and we would not know!Also if we do not want to say something, we can easily avoid doing that, because since there are no facial expressions, the interlocutor would not notice the difference. And nowadays, especially with text messages, you can nearly pretend to be someone you are not! Speaking on the phone or texting gives some people the confidence they do not have in face-to-face interactions, especially in the reserved British culture. How did the use of the mobile change the way we perceive communication? We communicate when we have drop off time, as the respondents said, we are using â€Å"time in between”, when we are walking, when on the bus.Is it not all about time nowadays? As time is limited, which suggest monochromic orientation (Hall, 1983:42), and with the lack of time we have these days , we use every free moment we have to get in touch with people. But since these conver sations are being conducted when we are on the go, it may deprive of the focus and dedication we would give this other person if we were talking to him/her face-to-face. Also, in terms of contact, we have a chance to keep in touch more often, but it is more about exchanging information than having real in-depth conversation with another person.People tend to divide time into little blocks in order to use it as efficiently as possible, tending to multi-task and combine many activities at a time. For instance, talking on the phone, checking emails, responding to messages, on the way to/from work, school, walking, sipping coffee †which again suggests a slight shift towards polychronic orientation. Time is considered limited, however nowadays we are trying to make the most of it, some would wish to even â€Å"save it” via multi-tasking.To close up this section, we communicate more easily, more efficiently and more cheaply, but also we have created some inevitably and new obligations. Specialists claim that we are becoming habituated to technology, but the answer may be different. We are not as much addicted to technology, as to communicating with people. We are addicted to interacting with our social circle, and mobile phones facilitate the process of communication. CONCLUSION In conclusion, there is no doubt that the spread of mobile communication is affecting our lives and the way we maintain relationships.Since technologically advanced information systems tend to encourage and facilitate communication and at the same time cultural interaction, it is graspable that they play an important part in influencing the way the communication is conducted and change the way people are perceiving certain situations, at the same time creating new ways of seeing reality and different behavior patterns. In the modern world we live in, the patterns of communication in Britain are rapidly changing. Mobile phones are increasingly used to help us establish, deve lop and maintain relationships.We see it as means to help us to bond and interact with our colleagues, friends and family. We perceive this new technology as a new approach to build social networks, and as a tool that makes our busy life easier. Word count: 3220 REFERENCES * FERRARO, G. P. (2002). The cultural dimension of international business 4th ed. swiftness Saddle River, new-fashioned Jersey: Prentice Hall, pp. 29 * FOX, K. (2001) Evolution, alienation and gossip: the role of mobile telecommunications in the 21st century. Social Issues Research Centre. Available from http://www. sirc. org/publik/gossip. shtml [Accessed on 15/11/2011 ] * GAMBLE, T.K. , GAMBLE,M. (1996). Communication works fifth ed. New York:McGraw-Hill, pp. 77 * HALL, E. T. (1977) Beyond culture. Garden City, NY: anchor Doubleday, pp. 14 * HALL, E. T. (1983) The Dance of Life: Other Dimensions of Time. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, pp. 42 * McGUIGAN, J. (2005) Towards a sociology of the mobile phone. An Interdisciplinary Journal on Humans in ICT Environments. Vol. 1 , pp. 45-57. Available from : www. humantechnology. jyu. fi [Accessed on 17/11/2011] * SAMOVAR, L. A. , et al (2007). Communication between cultures 6th ed. Belmont, khalifah: Thomson/Wadsworth, pp. 128-130\r\n'