Mobile media (Communication)

Using Apple's Screen Time application to obtain reported actual iPhone and social media (SM) use, we examined the accuracy of retrospective estimates of usage, how inaccuracies bias associations between use and psychosocial well-being (depression, loneliness, and life satisfaction), and the degree to which inaccuracies were predicted by levels of well-being. Among a sample of 325 iPhone users, we found that (a) participants misestimated their weekly overall iPhone and SM use by 19.1 and 12.2 hours, respectively; (b) correlations between estimated use and well-being variables were consistently stronger than the correlations between reported actual use and well-being variables; and (c) the degree of inaccuracy in estimated use was associated with levels of participant well-being and amount of use. These findings suggest that retrospective estimates of digital technology use may be systematically biased by factors that are fundamental to the associations under investigation. We propose that retrospective estimates of digital technology use may be capturing the construct of perceived use rather than actual use, and discuss how the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of perceived use may be distinct from

This paper addresses the ways new entrants and mobile technologies have become significant challenges to the old news' legitimacy models by focusing on pseudo-professional WhatsApp news groups from a journalistic authority standpoint. Based on a comparative textual analysis of how a breaking news event was handled by a leading Israeli pseudo-professional WhatsApp news group, compared to how it was covered by the Israeli News13 TV news broadcast, the findings indicate how, by adopting professional news practices and establishing unique relations of information exchange with traditional news outlets, journalistic authority is challenged by pseudo-professional WhatsApp news groups in today's mobile news environment.

The increasing global ubiquity of mobile phones has called into question their efficacy as dynamic tools for engagement and participation in daily life. While there is little argument in their growth as primary communication tools, scholars have actively debated their role as conduits for dynamic and diverse, information flow. This study explores how an international cohort of university students uses mobile phones for daily communication and information needs. In spring 2012, 793 students from 8 universities on 3 continents participated in a 24-hour mobile tracking exercise and reflection to answer the questions: How are college students using mobile phones for daily communication and information needs? and, how do college students perceive of the role of mobile phones for communication and information needs in their daily lives? The findings point to a population tethered to their mobile devices primarily through social networking apps, to the extent that they find it increasingly...

Despite the growing significance of mobile devices, especially among marginalized communities, there are few explorations of how participatory design (PD) can be applied to mobile communication technologies. This case study of Mobile Voices (VozMob) explores a community-based approach to PD and its potential to promote the participation of groups typically marginalized from the design process, and to empower users. VozMob is a mobile platform that was codesigned with and for immigrant workers and organizers to facilitate the online publishing of multimedia stories about their lives and their social justice efforts. Through collective visualization methods, observation, and interviews, this study investigates the factors that enabled or hindered

Despite the growing significance of mobile devices, especially among marginalized communities, there are few explorations of how participatory design (PD) can be applied to mobile communication technologies. This case study of Mobile Voices (VozMob) explores a community-based approach to PD and its potential to promote the participation of groups typically marginalized from the design process, and to empower users. VozMob is a mobile platform that was codesigned with and for immigrant workers and organizers to facilitate the online publishing of multimedia stories about their lives and their social justice efforts. Through collective visualization methods, observation, and interviews, this study investigates the factors that enabled or hindered meaningful user participation in the VozMob design process. Significant differences emerged between participants’ experiences of the design process, which allow for the exploration of themes related to technology appropriation, design ownersh...

In this article we focus on the relationship between vision and the hand to develop an understanding of the experience of mobile media use which in turn informs a methodology for researching it; a tactile digital ethnography. Theories of knowing through the hand, and uses of the hand in documentary practice already highlight its significance. We bring these together with our video ethnographies of mobile media use, to show how a focus on the hand offers both new insights into other people’s digital worlds, and an approach to learning about these.

In this article, I explore how the interplay between music consumption and selfconstruction is experienced by Norwegians who frequently use streaming services on smartphones. Accordingly, the interplay unfolds in a situation characterized by (a) an abundance of legally available music tracks and (b) low technical barriers for music listening, discovery, management, and sharing. This implies a major shift when compared to previous conditions for music consumption, and it provides the foundation upon which I developed the analysis. The article relies on qualitative material gathered in focus group discussions with smartphone streaming users in Oslo in September 2013. The findings suggest that the instant access to millions of songs yields a tension between intimacy and detachment in users' relationship to music. In such an environment of numerous music consumption alternatives, freedom of choice is embraced, but apparently accompanied with a craving for scarcity. These opposing tendencies in the experience of music consumption are interpreted and acted on by the individual in the reflexive and social processes of selfconstruction. Thus, I propose that the self should be included into what in domestication studies has been coined "the articulations of media technologies." The articulation of the self equips this analytical framework with a fourth pillar in addition to the previous three: object, content, and context. Moreover, the articulation of the self highlights a dimension that seems crucial to content consumption at large in the smartphone age.

In this article, I explore how the interplay between music consumption and selfconstruction is experienced by Norwegians who frequently use streaming services on smartphones. Accordingly, the interplay unfolds in a situation characterized by (a) an abundance of legally available music tracks and (b) low technical barriers for music listening, discovery, management, and sharing. This implies a major shift when compared to previous conditions for music consumption, and it provides the foundation upon which I developed the analysis. The article relies on qualitative material gathered in focus group discussions with smartphone streaming users in Oslo in September 2013. The findings suggest that the instant access to millions of songs yields a tension between intimacy and detachment in users' relationship to music. In such an environment of numerous music consumption alternatives, freedom of choice is embraced, but apparently accompanied with a craving for scarcity. These opposing tendencies in the experience of music consumption are interpreted and acted on by the individual in the reflexive and social processes of selfconstruction. Thus, I propose that the self should be included into what in domestication studies has been coined "the articulations of media technologies." The articulation of the self equips this analytical framework with a fourth pillar in addition to the previous three: object, content, and context. Moreover, the articulation of the self highlights a dimension that seems crucial to content consumption at large in the smartphone age.

In this article we focus on the relationship between vision and the hand to develop an understanding of the experience of mobile media use which in turn informs a methodology for researching it; a tactile digital ethnography. Theories of knowing through the hand, and uses of the hand in documentary practice already highlight its significance. We bring these together with our video ethnographies of mobile media use, to show how a focus on the hand offers both new insights into other people’s digital worlds, and an approach to learning about these.

The present study investigated the psychological health effects and motivational origins of digital stress based on a representative survey of 1,557 German Internet users between 14 and 85 years of age. Communication load resulting from private e-mails and social media messages as well as Internet multitasking were positively related to perceived stress and had significant indirect effects on burnout, depression, and anxiety. Perceived social pressure and the fear of missing out on information and social interaction were key drivers of communication load and Internet multitasking. Age

A presença na Internet é uma constante no quotidiano de muitos dos nossos alunos, quer em casa quer na escola. O acesso à Internet por parte de crianças e jovens coloca uma série de questões que urge analisar. De facto, se novos horizontes, desafios, oportunidades e perspectivas se podem abrir aos jovens no seu contacto com o mundo da Web, também novos riscos e problemas podem surgir. Como tal, é necessário que as c r i a n ç a s e j o v e n s a d q u i r a m u m a l iteracia digital que ultrapasse as competências de uso técnico e inclua dimensões associadas à adopção de comportamentos adequados no ciberespaço, nomeadamente no sentido de evitarem práticas potencialmente fonte de perigos da diversa natureza. Na convicção de que o acesso à informação, ao conhecimento, às novas formas de comunicar e de exercício da cidadania e intervenção social são valores associados à existência digital na Web, importa maximizar as vantagens e potencialidades e reduzir os riscos e desvantagens que dai podem advir. Partindo desta ideia, torna-se importante que as escolas, os professores, os pais e outros educadores cumpram a sua função educativa também neste campo: educar com a Web e para a Web. No sentido de contribuir para este objectivo, desenvolveu-se um estudo centrado na caracterização do tipo de utilização que crianças e jovens portugueses fazem da internet, na caracterização de potenciais comportamentos de risco e na identificação da percepção que estes possuem relativamente a esses comportamentos. Nesta comunicação serão apresentados alguns dos dados decorrentes de um levantamento, através de um inquérito por questionário, realizado a nível nacional, junto de crianças e jovens que frequentam escolas portuguesas.

Individuals benefit from Pokémon Go (PG) gaming because this mobile augmented reality geolocation video game provides an attractive opportunity to increase physical activity outdoors and socialize. However, based on gaming and electronic media studies, intense involvement with PG is likely related to adverse phenomena, such as arm pain or eye-related problems. We aimed to test how PG use (problematic vs. non-problematic gaming and gaming time) is related to physical symptoms (pain in three body regions and computer vision syndrome). To dissect game-specific effects, we controlled for general problematic smartphone use, phubbing, and electronic media usage. PG players (N = 455) completed an online survey. We found that PG players with problematic game use reported more pain and vision problems. Problematic PG use was a better predictor of physical symptoms than PG gaming time and variables related to electronic media use. Problematic PG use and problematic smartphone use were correlated but independent predictors of physical symptoms. We conclude that the type of participation rather than the time spent playing predicts poorer physical health among PG players. Pokémon Go (PG, Niantic Inc., USA) is an augmented reality geolocation game. PG players explore their surroundings collecting virtual characters called Pokémon. Launched in 2016, PG continues to be one of the most popular and profitable mobile video games, with annual revenue of $904 mln in 2021 1. Several games with similar mechanics involving geolocation and physical activity have been developed. Some preceded PG, e.g., Ingress (Niantic Inc., USA). Some followed, e.g., Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Niantic Inc., USA) or one of the most recent, The Witcher: Monster Slayer (Spokko, Poland). PG gaming has been related to positive physical, mental, and social outcomes 2-5. However, little is known about the adverse phenomena among PG gamers, and most of the harmful health evidence is anecdotal. Some PG players can become preoccupied with the game to the extent that they have problems with deliberate control over game use; symptoms indicative of problematic game use 6. This problematic use, in turn, is likely to increase the risk of pain and vision problems through frequent and prolonged periods of inadequate body posture and bad visual habits 7,8. We aimed to fill this gap by addressing musculoskeletal pain and vision problems among PG players. Pokémon Go versus console and PC video games. PG is an augmented reality mobile game involving physical activity (mostly walking) as a tool for the game's progress. Geolocation video games played with handheld devices differ from console or PC video games. For instance, geolocation games motivate participants to stay outdoors, visit different places, and make real-life friends with other players. This contrasts with stationary console or PC games, where players must remain seated and manipulate the game with a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad. They also minimize gross body movements to maintain greater cognitive focus. Consequently, geolocation games have been identified as offering health and social benefits 6. Pokémon Go versus exergames. Explicit health motives are predictive of PG use 5. However, an engaging and enjoyable experience rather than physical exercise is the primary motive for endorsing geolocation games 9. Most PG players exercise while playing regardless of the level of their general physical exercise motivation 9. Playing PG while not moving is possible because PG involves mechanics enjoyable in a sedentary format, e.g., trading Pokémon with friends, competing with other players online, or using remote gym battles. Consequently, it is essential to note fundamental differences between PG and exergames (or active video games) that constitute another group of games involving physical activity. Exergames are active video games designed primarily to optimize physical exercise, e.g., in the form of fitness, dancing, boxing, or cycling 10,11. Exergames have an explicit health or fitness focus. Moreover, exergames are often carefully designed to augment the treatment of patient populations 12 .

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons were once heralded as the “holy grail of marketing,” a “cookie” for the physical world. An entire industry—proximity marketing—evolved to capture value from beacon-enabled micro-location networks, with venture capitalists, startups, mobile operating systems suppliers, and major platforms all making substantial investments of data, labor, and resources in the technology. Despite these investments, beacons fell out of favor abruptly, with observers dismissing the technology as an overly cumbersome solution in search of a problem, a “low-value fad.” We offer a microhistorical account of beacons’ small yet untenable role in the ecologies of location-based commercial surveillance—from the standards wars between Apple and Google to the efforts of startups and tech giants to capitalize on the market’s enthusiasm for beacons, and finally, to the industry’s quiet collapse. Our analysis builds upon work on the relationship between platform and infrastructure...

China has in recent years seen the rapid adoption of multi-functional social networking applications such as WeChat. This paper aims to explore if China's social stratification has influenced the adoption and use of mobile social apps and if social apps such as WeChat can help to bridge the digital divide by providing urban and rural users equal access to diverse information and communication resources. The study is based on four months of fieldwork in the Henan province of central China and combines quantitative data from surveys and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and focus groups. We find that there still exists a digital gap in the adoption and use of mobile social apps such as WeChat between rural and urban China, but such differences are also associated with demographic variables such as age, gender, and education level. Meanwhile, we found that WeChat has become more than a communication tool; it has also played an essential role in everyday problem-solving and information seeking for both rural and urban users. Our qualitative interviews and focus group studies reveal how WeChat influences various aspects of daily life in developing areas in China. We argue that although some divides in information seeking are being overcome, other new divides are emerging.

Although social media are increasingly used through mobile devices, the differences between mobile and computer-based practices remain unclear. This study attempts to tease out some of these differences through multiple analytical strategies and samples. Drawing on theoretical expectations about the affordances, motivations, and cognition of mobile use, we investigate who uses mobile Facebook, why they use it, and how they use it. To do this, we first compare those who use Facebook only on a PC with those who also use the service on mobile devices. Then, in order to quantify mobile Facebook use, we propose a new set of survey measures to tap into more and less mobile users among the sample of people who access Facebook through multiple modes. These questions serve to validate measures of mobile Facebook use, and allow us to examine how patterns of use relate to user motivations and experiences. Findings revealed important differences between PC-only and mobile users as well as a dis...

Individuals benefit from Pokémon Go (PG) gaming because this mobile augmented reality geolocation video game provides an attractive opportunity to increase physical activity outdoors and socialize. However, based on gaming and electronic media studies, intense involvement with PG is likely related to adverse phenomena, such as arm pain or eye-related problems. We aimed to test how PG use (problematic vs. non-problematic gaming and gaming time) is related to physical symptoms (pain in three body regions and computer vision syndrome). To dissect game-specific effects, we controlled for general problematic smartphone use, phubbing, and electronic media usage. PG players (N = 455) completed an online survey. We found that PG players with problematic game use reported more pain and vision problems. Problematic PG use was a better predictor of physical symptoms than PG gaming time and variables related to electronic media use. Problematic PG use and problematic smartphone use were correlated but independent predictors of physical symptoms. We conclude that the type of participation rather than the time spent playing predicts poorer physical health among PG players. Pokémon Go (PG, Niantic Inc., USA) is an augmented reality geolocation game. PG players explore their surroundings collecting virtual characters called Pokémon. Launched in 2016, PG continues to be one of the most popular and profitable mobile video games, with annual revenue of $904 mln in 2021 1. Several games with similar mechanics involving geolocation and physical activity have been developed. Some preceded PG, e.g., Ingress (Niantic Inc., USA). Some followed, e.g., Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Niantic Inc., USA) or one of the most recent, The Witcher: Monster Slayer (Spokko, Poland). PG gaming has been related to positive physical, mental, and social outcomes 2-5. However, little is known about the adverse phenomena among PG gamers, and most of the harmful health evidence is anecdotal. Some PG players can become preoccupied with the game to the extent that they have problems with deliberate control over game use; symptoms indicative of problematic game use 6. This problematic use, in turn, is likely to increase the risk of pain and vision problems through frequent and prolonged periods of inadequate body posture and bad visual habits 7,8. We aimed to fill this gap by addressing musculoskeletal pain and vision problems among PG players. Pokémon Go versus console and PC video games. PG is an augmented reality mobile game involving physical activity (mostly walking) as a tool for the game's progress. Geolocation video games played with handheld devices differ from console or PC video games. For instance, geolocation games motivate participants to stay outdoors, visit different places, and make real-life friends with other players. This contrasts with stationary console or PC games, where players must remain seated and manipulate the game with a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad. They also minimize gross body movements to maintain greater cognitive focus. Consequently, geolocation games have been identified as offering health and social benefits 6. Pokémon Go versus exergames. Explicit health motives are predictive of PG use 5. However, an engaging and enjoyable experience rather than physical exercise is the primary motive for endorsing geolocation games 9. Most PG players exercise while playing regardless of the level of their general physical exercise motivation 9. Playing PG while not moving is possible because PG involves mechanics enjoyable in a sedentary format, e.g., trading Pokémon with friends, competing with other players online, or using remote gym battles. Consequently, it is essential to note fundamental differences between PG and exergames (or active video games) that constitute another group of games involving physical activity. Exergames are active video games designed primarily to optimize physical exercise, e.g., in the form of fitness, dancing, boxing, or cycling 10,11. Exergames have an explicit health or fitness focus. Moreover, exergames are often carefully designed to augment the treatment of patient populations 12 .

As mobile media have grown more advanced, and mobile Internet access has increased to a near-ubiquitous state, media use is often described as occurring "anytime, anywhere." Consequently, measuring media use and understanding competition and coexistence within such an environment is a constant challenge for researchers. To help address this issue the present study explicates a method for measuring media use and competition, the time-space diary, and reports a methodological study testing the robustness of this method across 3 diary instruments. Following a summary of concepts central to mobile media use and measurement, this study reports findings from data collected using 3 types of time-space diaries. Results indicate no significant difference between diary methods (paper and pencil, audio recorder, mobile device) on the likelihood of reported media use, and minimal differences in patterns of competitive superiority, supporting the reliability of the method. Paper-and-pencil diaries are argued to offer the greatest use flexibility relative to audio recorders and mobile devices, and received higher ease of use scores relative to mobile devices. The article concludes

The “device divide” occurs when uses of the Internet vary substantially by device. While the mobile phone was welcomed as a way to reduce the general digital divide, much early research presumed that mobile Internet was essentially inferior to personal-computer-based Internet in terms of possible online activities and related benefits. Given ongoing developments in devices, online activities, and socio-demographic differences, we reassess the device divide. After reviewing the concept, and considering mobile phone capabilities that could influence activities, followed by summarizing changes in device usage and online activities in the United States, we analyze the device divide from 2011 to 2019 in Armenia. Over time, use of mobile Internet separately and combined with personal computer Internet grew, and differences in online activity use withered, raising issues of whither device divide research. Nonetheless, in all years, there are continuing demographic-based digital divides aft...

Almost as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading throughout much of the world, conspiracies arose that blamed the virus on the deployment of fifth-generation cellular networks (5G) infrastructure. These conspiracies had significant consequences, including protests against 5G and the destruction of 5G infrastructure. This article uses a media genealogy approach to place the 5G/COVID-19 conspiracies within the long and recurring cycle of conspiracies focused on mobile infrastructure. Placed within that broader history, this article argues that the 5G/COVID-19 conspiracies should have been unsurprising, and these types of infrastructural conspiracies should be a more significant part of mobile media and communication (MMC) research because infrastructures are an often invisible, yet crucial, part of the mobile practices studied within MMC research. The article concludes by theorizing about why mobile infrastructures are such a frequent target for conspiracy theories and argues that researchers should begin planning now for combatting the conspiracies that will almost inevitably arise when the next generation of mobile infrastructure gets linked to fears about public health.

People create and publish stories on different platforms, but some of them are taken by the news sites. This paper examines the community news feeds and approaches for using the content provided by citizens on news sites. Because the citizens' content can both adjust the flow of information and facilitate the collection of information, this paper explores different situations which are interesting for news sites. The paper concludes that users' content improves the relationship between journalists, users and information. The paper underlines the ways in which community stories are used in the flow of information on media sites.

This paper shows how media companies implement the social media strategy for their journalistic products. The objective of research is to identify approaches in which the Romanian media companies expand their production and business by considering user-generated content and social media platforms, with the purpose to draw a new online audience, and to create new media products. The media companies subject to the study, supply online general news. The methodology is based on SWOT analysis, quantitative and qualitative methods. While other studies show the user's activities on social media platforms, this study presents the interest of the media companies for social media platforms and users' content. The conclusions of this study show that the management methods and practices have evolved differently through the implementation of the social media platforms; in this way the solutions picked up by the media companies are different.

The emergence of location-based real-time dating (LBRTD) apps such as Tinder has introduced a new way for users to get to know potential partners nearby. The design of the apps represents a departure from “old-school” dating sites as it relies on the affordances of mobile media. This might change the way individuals portray themselves as their authentic or deceptive self. Based on survey data collected via Mechanical Turk and using structural equation modeling, we assess how Tinder users present themselves, exploring at the same time the impact of their personality characteristics, their demographics, and their motives of use. We find that self-esteem is the most important psychological predictor, fostering real self-presentation but decreasing deceptive self-presentation. The motives of use—hooking up/sex, friendship, relationship, traveling, self-validation, and entertainment—also affect the two forms of self-presentation. Demographic characteristics and psychological antecedents ...

Around every new media technology debates circle about whether the technology is bringing people socially closer or pushing us further apart. According to popular press accounts, Pokémon GO players are absorbed into a game world on their phone with no attention or interest in the “real” world around them. But coupled with these accounts are stories of people exploring their neighborhoods and of marriage proposals in the midst of Pokémon hunting. This article puts Pokémon GO into a longer context of mobile technologies and sociospatial practice to explore the kinds of social interactions that can emerge around and through the use of Pokémon GO. In particular, the article explores how people can use the platform as both an involvement shield and social catalyst.

In this introduction, we define mobile methods as the means by which mobile communication technology is used to study the social world. We identify and describe three themes of mobile methods. First, they are field-based research, which enables the researcher to go into the world of their participants, enhancing ecological validity. Second, mobile methods engage in controlled complexity regarding the data they collect. Often complex and very large datasets are created through mobile methods and researchers must thoughtfully decide how best to analyze such data. Third, these methods raise important ethical considerations. Researchers employing mobile methods may collect a variety of personal or sensitive information and must be vigilant regarding informed consent and data management procedures. Lastly, we summarize the seven articles in this Special Issue.

As 75 percent of the world’s mobile subscriptions are in developing countries, studies of use patterns are essential to broader understanding. However, scholars should engage with existing theory and literature in order to operate within a framework and expand readership. Rigorous and ethical research from a variety of methodological perspectives is encouraged.

Integrating digital divide and diffusion of innovations approaches, this study analyzes individual-level and market-level influences on the 8-year cumulative adoption of the mobile phone in one developing country. Considering each year separately, as tests of the typical digital divide model, age, education, economic condition, Internet access, and household size were significant divides in all years; employment, marital status, and urbanness were so only in about half the years, and sex in none of the years. However, a diffusion of innovations approach revealed some differences in demographic influences on mobile phone adoption across three adoption categories. Changing mobile phone market conditions were associated with varying adoption levels, and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita correlated with percent adoption except during the global economic crisis.

As mobile media have grown more advanced, and mobile Internet access has increased to a near-ubiquitous state, media use is often described as occurring "anytime, anywhere." Consequently, measuring media use and understanding competition and coexistence within such an environment is a constant challenge for researchers. To help address this issue the present study explicates a method for measuring media use and competition, the time-space diary, and reports a methodological study testing the robustness of this method across 3 diary instruments. Following a summary of concepts central to mobile media use and measurement, this study reports findings from data collected using 3 types of time-space diaries. Results indicate no significant difference between diary methods (paper and pencil, audio recorder, mobile device) on the likelihood of reported media use, and minimal differences in patterns of competitive superiority, supporting the reliability of the method. Paper-and-pencil diaries are argued to offer the greatest use flexibility relative to audio recorders and mobile devices, and received higher ease of use scores relative to mobile devices. The article concludes

Media panics research is concerned with widespread social anxiety formed around a new technology or medium. This study adds to existing research by characterizing a new form of media panic around augmented reality applications, and specifically that which erupted concerning Pokémon GO, a popular augmented reality game. Based on a content analysis of items related to the game published in Israel's major print and online media in the period immediately following the game's launch, we classify the negative media coverage as a media panic and propose an explanation for its emergence. We argue that the negative reactions to the game stem specifically from the game's unique features and its mobile infrastructure, and especially its use of augmented reality that combines users’ virtual experiences and their interactions in actual physical space. We identify a third wave of mobile panic in this current phenomenon, one which takes into account the unique features of mobile techno...

This research develops a model of mobile social network dispersion in rescue communication, and illustrates how people use a combination of mobile and social media, along with real-time communication, in their decision-making process. Guided by established research on smartphones, social media, and affordances, we used a qualitative approach and conducted field interviews that included photo-elicitation interview (PEI) techniques to examine participants’ private social media data. Our analysis of these rescue decisions reveals why so few people used the official 9-1-1 system. We show how rescue communication often occurs through a socially constructed assessment of risk that involves persuasion by trusted others in their network, regardless of professional qualifications. Furthermore, trusted others can function as proxies and can draw upon mobile social network affordances, helping to compensate for material limitations. The affordances people drew from can be organized into two se...

The widespread popularity of Pokémon GO presents the first opportunity to observe the geographic effects of locationbased gaming at scale. This paper reports the results of a mixed methods study of the geography of Pokémon GO that includes a five-country field survey of 375 Pokémon GO players and a large scale geostatistical analysis of game elements. Focusing on the key geographic themes of places and movement, we find that the design of Pokémon GO reinforces existing geographically-linked biases (e.g. the game advantages urban areas and neighborhoods with smaller minority populations), that Pokémon GO may have instigated a relatively rare large-scale shift in global human mobility patterns, and that Pokémon GO has geographicallylinked safety risks, but not those typically emphasized by the media. Our results point to geographic design implications for future systems in this space such as a means through which the geographic biases present in Pokémon GO may be counteracted.

Drawing on recent research conducted in Spain, this article analyses how mobile telephony contributes to (re)create and (re)mediate gender, couple intimacy, and privacy. We take a Goffmanian approach to analyse the utterances of disturb* ( to disturb, disturbing, disturbed) in interviews and focus groups on mobile phone uses and practices within heterosexual couples, showing how gendered ways of everyday management of intimate bonds and territories of the self contribute to the ordinary reconstitution of gender hierarchical differentiation. These gendered ways, in conjunction with mobile telephony possibilities and constraints, are producing the contextual norms and expectations which set the condition for privacy, or the lack of it, within current couple intimacies.

In this article, we explore the day-to-day importance of digital media, specifically the use of mobile phones in the lives of migrant minors—also known as unaccompanied foreign minors—in juvenile residential centres. For this study, we employed a general ethnographic methodology and, in particular, a workshop based on different artistic techniques that encouraged the young people involved to become active participants, committed from the start in the generation of the material to be used for the analysis of their daily practices. This approach emerged from the recognition of the importance for these young people to feel included and connected. Migrant adolescents take refuge in their mobile devices to participate in the youth microculture, both locally and globally. In addition, they are able to access different social networks that allow them to play out the personas they wish to adopt. Finally, we recognise the importance of digital media in allowing them to maintain close and aff...

The Internet has been a valuable resource for many indigenous groups as a vehicle for self-representation. In this paper, we describe how the installation of a Wi-Fi signal in a Guaraní community in Greater Buenos Aires—as part of the community leader’s decolonizing media projects—generated issues within the community. While much indigenous media research concerns the politics of cultural representation, we consider the politics of everyday, intracommunity mobile communication practices. Firstly, our findings show how the choice of communication medium can become a political issue. An upsurge in mobile-mediated communication within the community contributed to the decline of face-to-face deliberations, which were the mainstay of communal sharing arrangements and which held a central position in understandings of Guaraní culture. Secondly, our findings show how discrepancies between users’ communication preferences and the readily available mobile media services can generate a use ba...

This paper examines the significance of user-distributed content (UDC) for news consumption, thereby offering an innovative take on mass communication and the participatory audience. From the viewpoint of media organizations, UDC is a process by which the mass media converge with online social networks through the intentional use of social media and other platforms and services in an effort to expand the distribution of media content. In order to focus specifically on mobile news consumption, this paper sheds light on the novel phenomenon of mobile user-distributed content (mobile UDC). Mobile UDC is manifested in mobile users’ ability to share online media content on a perpetual and ubiquitous basis. The study utilizes the results from a survey carried out with Finnish Internet users. The main finding is that mobile Internet users are more active in UDC than those who do not use the Internet with mobile devices. It is thus argued that mobile UDC, as a developing concept, can be use...

Smartphones offer multimedia convergence in a single device, ubiquitous access to media, and constant connections with others. The rapid rise of smartphone use calls for more scholarly attention paid to users’ media usage and time expenditure. This study aims to (a) understand smartphone usage patterns by examining time spent using smartphones and task switching between mobile applications (apps), and (b) test the validity of self-reported measures of these behaviors by comparing self-reports with log data from the smartphone. Data were collected from 50 participants over 1 week. Results show that on average participants spent 2 hours 39 minutes on their smartphone and made 101 app switches per day. Among other findings, social networking was the most used app category, age was a significant demographic factor, and participants, especially heavy smartphone users, overestimated their mobile app usage. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

There is a long and healthy debate about the "new" in "new media," and ever more scholars in the social sciences and humanities are entering the debate. Whichever side one takes in that debate, there is evidence of new forms of interaction and connection by way of modern media. Teenagers renegotiate relations to their parents by real time sharing and withholding of information on their location, their activities and their emotional states. Cultural goods such as literature and music acquire new and different meanings and affective investments when no longer collected and used in a material form but streamed to devices at hand. New potentials for health provision, social welfare and trade arise in regions where people have their first contact with hospitals, government agencies and banks through the screens of their mobile phones instead of computers or human agents. We cannot yet systematically define precisely what these observations have in common. But they all touch the phenomenon of mobility in communication. We believe that the time has come for a joint effort to explain this still unfolding phenomenon. This is what Mobile Media & Communication is about.

Research on mHealth apps provides mixed evidence regarding their effectiveness for behavior change, including physical activity. Synthesizing prior perspectives, we test predictors of tracking app and physical activity intentions (Study 1; n = 658) and their links to everyday mobility (Study 2; n = 418; n = 27,617,440 observations). Study 1 showed that individuals have overlapping perceptions of tracking apps and physical activity. Taking a naturalistic mobile sensing approach, Study 2 found that tracking app and physical activity intentions predicted self-reported physical activity – but not logged movement (i.e., walking, cycling, or running). Tracking app use was not related to the level of logged movement in daily life. However, participants who regularly used tracking apps were more likely to view them as impactful, suggesting that daily mHealth app use is related to perceived (vs. observed) behavior change. Together, our studies illuminate how perceptions of mobility and mobil...

This article analyzes the spread of unreliable information on Twitter during the 2017 French presidential campaign, focusing on the use of mobile phones with regard to information-sharing behavior. The corpus is composed of 38,346,765 tweets, posted by 2,163,812 supporters of the five main French political parties, from November 25, 2016 to May 12, 2017. We examine more precisely a sub-corpus of tweets (13,044,619) containing links to external information sources, in order to evaluate the different types of information sources and their reliability. Our research shows that information-sharing behavior within Twitter in France is generally based on reliable information sources, produced by journalists and professional media. However, we highlight that smartphone users tended to share a greater amount of user-generated content, as well as articles from a wider range of alternative political information sources (blogs, activists’ websites); such sources were most likely to publish unre...

Pretende-se compreender como os jovens reportam a utilização de meios tecnológicos e conhecer a perceção que encarregados de educação e professores têm acerca dessa utilização. Propôs-se perceber se estes monitorizam a utilização que os jovens fazem dos meios tecnológicos e que práticas de sensibilização utilizam. Foram aplicados o Inventário de Incidentes Observados de Cyberbullying a 269 adolescentes e o Inventário sobre Segurança Online e Cyberbullying a 155 encarregados de educação e 28 professores. Evidenciam-se diferenças significativas entre a utilização reportada pelos alunos e as perceções dos encarregados de educação e professores.

Almost as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading throughout much of the world, conspiracies arose that blamed the virus on the deployment of fifth-generation cellular networks (5G) infrastructure. These conspiracies had significant consequences, including protests against 5G and the destruction of 5G infrastructure. This article uses a media genealogy approach to place the 5G/COVID-19 conspiracies within the long and recurring cycle of conspiracies focused on mobile infrastructure. Placed within that broader history, this article argues that the 5G/COVID-19 conspiracies should have been unsurprising, and these types of infrastructural conspiracies should be a more significant part of mobile media and communication (MMC) research because infrastructures are an often invisible, yet crucial, part of the mobile practices studied within MMC research. The article concludes by theorizing about why mobile infrastructures are such a frequent target for conspiracy theories and argues t...

Almost as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading throughout much of the world, conspiracies arose that blamed the virus on the deployment of fifth-generation cellular networks (5G) infrastructure. These conspiracies had significant consequences, including protests against 5G and the destruction of 5G infrastructure. This article uses a media genealogy approach to place the 5G/COVID-19 conspiracies within the long and recurring cycle of conspiracies focused on mobile infrastructure. Placed within that broader history, this article argues that the 5G/COVID-19 conspiracies should have been unsurprising, and these types of infrastructural conspiracies should be a more significant part of mobile media and communication (MMC) research because infrastructures are an often invisible, yet crucial, part of the mobile practices studied within MMC research. The article concludes by theorizing about why mobile infrastructures are such a frequent target for conspiracy theories and argues t...

Set in the context of India's second Covid-19 wave (April-June 2021), this article examines the transformation of a WhatsApp group originally created to study a pool of fantasy sport players into a site of care, concern, and support. By using netnography and in-depth interviews to chart the various challenges faced by the study's participants, the article analyzes how key health information was curated, moderated, and shared by the group's participants during the period. Our findings indicate that during the Covid-19 wave, users of WhatsApp relied on the personal connections it offered as they found ways to make the platform their own. By harnessing WhatsApp's capabilities with regard to accessing and sharing essential information that was both timely and locationally relevant, users of the service found ways to stay informed in moments that were fraught with uncertainty. By analyzing the various ways in which the group's participants shared information with each other and outside of the group, this study argues that the insights obtained can be used to understand broader social realities and the possibilities offered by platforms such as WhatsApp that could help navigate the various challenges presented by the ongoing pandemic in the Global South.

Resumen: En virtud de su capacidad creciente de conectividad, procesamiento y transmisión de datos, el dispositivo móvil se encuentra inmerso en un proceso de convergencia con el ecosistema mediático, que involucra, por un lado, a paradigmas propios de los medios convencionales (contenidos estandarizados, coste por acceso, consumo individualizado pasivo) y por otro, al paradigma característico de la Web Social (contenidos personalizados y/o generados por el usuario, entornos abiertos a terceras partes, trabajo colaborativo, predominio de la cultura de la compartición, etc.). El presente artículo propone un marco general de los factores relevantes por los que el paradigma de la Web Social se perfila actualmente como un modelo prevalente en el desarrollo del mercado y el consumo de datos en dispositivos móviles, aportando una estructura conceptual de utilidad para el posterior estudio evolutivo de los modelos de producción, negocio y consumo de los contenidos móviles.

There is a long and healthy debate about the "new" in "new media," and ever more scholars in the social sciences and humanities are entering the debate. Whichever side one takes in that debate, there is evidence of new forms of interaction and connection by way of modern media. Teenagers renegotiate relations to their parents by real time sharing and withholding of information on their location, their activities and their emotional states. Cultural goods such as literature and music acquire new and different meanings and affective investments when no longer collected and used in a material form but streamed to devices at hand. New potentials for health provision, social welfare and trade arise in regions where people have their first contact with hospitals, government agencies and banks through the screens of their mobile phones instead of computers or human agents. We cannot yet systematically define precisely what these observations have in common. But they all touch the phenomenon of mobility in communication. We believe that the time has come for a joint effort to explain this still unfolding phenomenon. This is what Mobile Media & Communication is about.

Studies on mobile phone attachment have often focused on addiction to the mobile phone with a particular focus on young populations to the neglect of older ones. However, attachment to the mobile phone means more than addiction as experienced by young populations in developed nations. This paper attempts to explore the various forms of attachment across a working population in Africa. It is aimed at establishing the forms of attachment to the mobile phone and their possible sociodemographic variations. Data was collected from 374 used-clothing traders in Accra, using a mixed-methods approach. Employing the conversion framework from domestication theory, a thematic analysis showed that attachment to mobile phone use is culturally specific. A principal component analysis revealed five types of attachment with significant variations across age, gender, and level of education.

Through communication technology, users find themselves constantly connected to others to such an extent that they routinely develop a mindset of connectedness. This mindset has been defined as online vigilance. Although there is a large body of research on media use and well-being, the question of how online vigilance impacts well-being remains unanswered. In this preregistered study, we combine experience sampling and smartphone logging to address the relation of online vigilance and affective well-being in everyday life. Seventy-five Android users answered eight daily surveys over five days (N = 1615) whilst having their smartphone use logged. Thinking about smartphone-mediated social interactions (i.e., the salience dimension of online vigilance) was negatively related to affective well-being. However, it was far more important whether those thoughts were positive or negative. No other dimension of online vigilance was robustly related to affective well-being. Taken together, ou...