Impact of Mobile Phone on Work/Life Balance - ANU Preliminary Report

Recently released preliminary findings from an Australian National University (ANU), AMTA/ARC study has supported the belief that the mobile phone is becoming an indispensable part of everyday life for the majority of Australians.

This large quantitative research project, reporting on findings from Phase 1 of the research, is based around a questionnaire, mobile phone log and 24 hour time diary. The result is a sample size of 1358 individuals from 845 households. Of this sample, the age-group that used mobile phones the most were aged between 18-39. Can we really have a moral panic about student use of mobile technologies in secondary schools, when many of their teachers use them even more frequently?

Some other interesting findings to come out of the research, even at this early stage, have to do with the factors influencing the individual's choice of 'different communication modalities'. These include why individuals use mobile phones as opposed to landlines, and why people send text messages instead of making a phone call.

When choosing a mobile phone over a landline, 'convenience' is the major influence, but when choosing and landline over a mobile, the major factor is 'cost' (Wajcman, et.al., 2007, 11). Making decisions between texting or calling are also related to financial, contextual, as well as intra- and interpersonal dimensions:

"The major reasons for sending text rather phoning someone were convenience, consideration for the other person's situation, and cost. Convenience is also an important consideration when deciding to use the mobile to phone someone rather than sending a text but the main reason is how important or time critical the topic is. " (11)

It is refreshing to see some research into the effect of contextual factors on the modalities of contextual practices.

There was also some interesting preliminary findings on how people use their mobile technologies, focusing on what features they use. The vast majority of uses were for talking and texting, though there was still other uses emerging around using the visual (photos), voting, Internet and music functions of phones (around 20% each). It would be further interesting to see how contextual factors (such as those for choices between landlines, mobiles and texting) influence choices around these other modes of semiotic engagement.

This research is laying important new ground in scholarship about mobile technologies and their effects on the everyday social lives of Australians. It provides a statistical backdrop for more detailed ethnographic or case-study based investigations that can flesh out the lived experiences of people as expressed in the findings of this research.

I will remain interested in how this research progresses, it's further findings and how they may tie in with and inform my own studies.

The full preliminary report is available through the ANU website at the following URL:

http://polsc.anu.edu.au/staff/wajcman/pubs/Report_on_Mobiles_and_Work_Life_Balance_June_07.pdf

References

Wajcman, J., Bittman, M., Jones, P., Johnstone, L. & Brown, J. (2007). The Impact of the Mobile Phone on Work/Life Balance: Preliminary Report. Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association and Australia National University. Retrieved on 17 July, 2007 from: http://polsc.anu.edu.au/staff/wajcman/pubs/Report_on_Mobiles_and_Work_Life_Balance_June_07.pdf

Walliker, A. (July 17, 2007). Mobiles change world. Herald Sun, p.7.