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TeledensityPublic Use of Mobile Communication
Technology on a College Campus

• Yi-Fan Chen
• Katie M. Lever
• Center for Mobile Communication Studies
• School of Communication, Information and Library
  Studies
• Rutgers University

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Research Problem
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• Seek to understand the social consequences of
  mobile digital technology
• Cell phones allow individuals to have remote
  relationships outside their immediate present
  worlds
• Mobile music technology allows individuals to
  isolate themselves from their present world
• Proximate relationships involvement thereby
  constrained by technology

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Absent Presence
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• Kenneth J. Gergen (2002)
• Technologies function to remove individuals from
  their location within the community.
• Individuals considered to be physically removed
• Through mass jet transportation and
  psychologically
• Through radio, television internet

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Apparatgeist Theory
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• James E. Katz Mark Aakhus (2002)
• A theory to capture way people think about and
  describe their technologies
• Emphasizes
• Public displays and norms
• Values and sub-cultural norms of use and anti-use
• Folk theories and life meanings
• Social uses vs. functional needs

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Domestication Theory
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• Roger Silverstone and Leslie Haddon (1996)
• How ICTs find a place in peoples lives
• Imagination
• Appropriation
• Objectification
• Conversion

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Method
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• Observed mobile communication entertainment
  technology usage in public space at Rutgers,
  March 2005 and April 2005
• Times Morning/Mid-day/Evening
• Locations Student Center, College Ave, Library,
  and Lecture Hall
• Observed 4562 people (53 female 47 male)

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Findings Public Use
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• Mobile teledensity was about 12.6.
• Male has higher mobile teledensity (13.8) than
  female (11.6).
• Varied by setting
• College Ave 13.3
• Lecture Hall 12.9
• Student Center 12.5
• Library 9.2
• Higher in late afternoon (14), medium in mid-day
  (13), lower in morning (11).

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Findings Gender
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Findings Patterns
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• 88.5 of mobile technology users were alone,
  11.5 used in presence of others.
• Men (89.5) were more likely to be alone than
  women (87.5) when they used their mobile
  technologies.

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Possible Implications
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• Teledensity on college campuses little studied
  phenom this may be first
• Found substantial minority of students in
  distant-presence mode
• Gender patterns of absent presence revealed,
  show reproduction of expected roles of
  telecommunication usage
• Transformation in use of public and space and
  experience of being with others
• Possible effects of isolation and irritation for
  non-user

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Future Data Collection
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• Expand observations to include
• affective correlates of usage in group vs. single
  settings
• group interaction
• What happens when individuals get cell phone
  calls or use mobile music technologies within a
  group?
• Address how the individual interacts with others
  when remotely present

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Acknowledge
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• We wish to thank for our professor, Dr. James E.
  Katz, at Rutgers University with his supportive
  guidance in the study.

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Thank you
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• Comments? Please contact
• Yi-Fan Chen/ yfchen_at_scils.rutgers.edu
• Katie M. Lever/ klever_at_scils.rutgers.edu
• _at_
• Center for Mobile Communication Studies
• School of Communication, Information and Library
  Studies
• Rutgers University
• Last updated September 13, 2005