Affiliations, Emotion and the Mobile Phone

摘要

Over half of the world's population is expected to be using mobile phones by 2009 and many have become attached to and even dependent on this small electronic communications device. Drawing on seven years of research into the affective aspects of mobile phone usage this chapter will examine ways that people in the UK have incorporated mobile phones into their lives. It will explore what they use it for, their affiliations and their emotional attachment to the mobile phone and how it appears to have gained such an extraordinary role in maintaining close relationships with family and friends.