OMEN
07-22-2007, 09:25 AM
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THE NEXT WRISTWATCH: An Australian study says most people can't live without their mobiles. Is this Japanese NTT DoCoMo's wristwatch-style cellphone the way of the future?
Some regard it as a disruptive, stress-creating device, but according to a recent Australian study, the mobile phone is a crucial aid in modern relationships.
The Australian National University (ANU) today released findings following a survey of more than 1,300 mobile phone users, along with an analysis of each respondents' last 10 calls.
It found the device, invented as a business tool for executives, is now predominantly used for contacting family and friends.
It also found users feel "more secure".
ANU Professor Judy Wajcman said for many respondents, the task of organising their everyday lives had become "unimaginable" without a mobile phone.
"In our survey, people attached the greatest importance to exchanging information about the timing of the arrival at home and arranging to meet with other family members," Professor Wajcman said in Sydney today.
"Among parents, arranging to deliver goods or children and finding out where children are were the most important."
She said call volumes also reflected this, with family-related calls vastly outweighing work-related calls.
More than two-thirds of the respondents, and especially women, reported their mobile phone was important for maintaining kinship ties.
It also found 75 per cent of respondents felt more secure with a mobile phone in their possession, while one third of workers said it would be difficult to do their job properly without their mobile.
University of New England Professor Michael Bittman, who also worked on the study, said mobile phones had introduced "perpetual contact and micro-coordination" to everyday human existence.
The survey was conducted in March this year.
Australia's rapid embrace of the mobile phone:
# Regardless of income, most Australians own one or more mobile phones.
# More than 90 per cent say their lives could not "proceed as normal" if they were suddenly without one.
# The typical mobile phone user makes calls "relatively infrequently", and 28 per cent make less than one call per day.
# Workers with mobile phones say the device increases their workload and also boosts their productivity.
# Among 14-17 year-olds, only 12 per cent do not regularly use a mobile phone while of those aged 18-39, 94 per cent are regular users.
# Most calls are made between partners, with women also more likely to call their children, parents and extended family. Men are more likely to make work-related calls.
# Ten per cent of mobile phone users said they don't switch off in cinemas, and half don't in restaurants.
# Worldwide there are now more than 1.7 billion mobile phones, more even than fixed-line phones. Figures drawn from the Australian National University's "The Impact of the Mobile Phone on Work/Life Balance" preliminary report.
AAP
THE NEXT WRISTWATCH: An Australian study says most people can't live without their mobiles. Is this Japanese NTT DoCoMo's wristwatch-style cellphone the way of the future?
Some regard it as a disruptive, stress-creating device, but according to a recent Australian study, the mobile phone is a crucial aid in modern relationships.
The Australian National University (ANU) today released findings following a survey of more than 1,300 mobile phone users, along with an analysis of each respondents' last 10 calls.
It found the device, invented as a business tool for executives, is now predominantly used for contacting family and friends.
It also found users feel "more secure".
ANU Professor Judy Wajcman said for many respondents, the task of organising their everyday lives had become "unimaginable" without a mobile phone.
"In our survey, people attached the greatest importance to exchanging information about the timing of the arrival at home and arranging to meet with other family members," Professor Wajcman said in Sydney today.
"Among parents, arranging to deliver goods or children and finding out where children are were the most important."
She said call volumes also reflected this, with family-related calls vastly outweighing work-related calls.
More than two-thirds of the respondents, and especially women, reported their mobile phone was important for maintaining kinship ties.
It also found 75 per cent of respondents felt more secure with a mobile phone in their possession, while one third of workers said it would be difficult to do their job properly without their mobile.
University of New England Professor Michael Bittman, who also worked on the study, said mobile phones had introduced "perpetual contact and micro-coordination" to everyday human existence.
The survey was conducted in March this year.
Australia's rapid embrace of the mobile phone:
# Regardless of income, most Australians own one or more mobile phones.
# More than 90 per cent say their lives could not "proceed as normal" if they were suddenly without one.
# The typical mobile phone user makes calls "relatively infrequently", and 28 per cent make less than one call per day.
# Workers with mobile phones say the device increases their workload and also boosts their productivity.
# Among 14-17 year-olds, only 12 per cent do not regularly use a mobile phone while of those aged 18-39, 94 per cent are regular users.
# Most calls are made between partners, with women also more likely to call their children, parents and extended family. Men are more likely to make work-related calls.
# Ten per cent of mobile phone users said they don't switch off in cinemas, and half don't in restaurants.
# Worldwide there are now more than 1.7 billion mobile phones, more even than fixed-line phones. Figures drawn from the Australian National University's "The Impact of the Mobile Phone on Work/Life Balance" preliminary report.
AAP