Social Implications of Mobile Computing - Essay Example

Table of Contents SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF MOBILE COMPUTING 3 Introduction 3 Research Questions 4 Research Methodology 5 Analysis and Conclusions 6 Reflections 7 References 9 SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF MOBILE COMPUTING Introduction This paper endeavors to find the effects of increasing application of mobile computing on social interactions between individuals in present society. The term mobile computing makes reference to the portability of computing services and devices. This umbrella term stretches to cover all devices that are man portable and can be used ‘on the go’. This therefore covers cellular phones, and other handheld devices such as tablets. For the purpose of this essay laptop computers will not be considered mobile devices. This is because even though they are portable their portability is still limited by power needs and their general size and weight. Mobile device usage increases exponentially every year since development of cell phones and cellular networks. This is thanks to the increasing processing power of modern chips with corresponding decreasing costs. Mobile devices have become so integrated into everyday life and the convenience they have lent to daily life cannot go unstated. Now, time spent waiting in line at a super market can also be time spent checking work emails, organizing meetings with friends and or finding a recipe for the groceries. Previous research has shown that increased access to digital resources over mobile devices serves to increase work productivity and lead to a better work life. Other studies however posit that there are negative social implications of continued copious use of mobile devices. Mobile device usage may indirectly serve to spur on internet addicts and create for them a different avenue to play out their addiction. Mobile phones also create an interconnected virtual society especially if used for social networks. These social networks are however not necessarily equivalents of real life social groupings. “We’re treating the exchange of data as if it is the same thing as communication. In doing so, we lose something quite precious in the richness of our encounters.” In the same vein, chatting with a friend half way round the world could mean you’re ignoring the person seated across from you at the dinner table. Only one in six Australians switch off their phones during meals at home. The reason for continued use of mobile devices could be due to the reason that mobile devices can usually be used to carry out more tasks than devices that previously carried out just one function. These functions include playing music, taking photographs and telling time. Previously each of these tasks were done on a dedicated device that a mobile device will usually neatly roll into one device. Since the positive effects of mobile devices are quite apparent this paper will seek to examine the negative aspects found in different journal publications. Research Questions The Journal papers under scrutiny have various topics but these topics tend to overlap on the following three research questions. Does continued use of mobile devices cause addiction? Does this addiction cause social problems for those affected? Is continued mobile device usage a habit, an addiction or an impulsive disorder? Are there possible modalities that can be put in place to reduce the negative impacts of mobile device usage on social interactions? Research Methodology To asses addiction of test subjects (Lyvers et al. 2016) looked at a measure of separation anxiety. In their study they first filter participants for age to make sure the resulting 86 participants were within the age of 18 and 30 years. Due to the very nature of the research questions, it was only inevitable that research tools and methods from the field of psychology and sociology lend themselves to this research. Depression anxiety and Stress Scale is used to determine if participants feel particularly distressed when they no longer have their mobile devices close to them. The Fear of Intimacy Scale is also used to assess whether individuals have difficulty having actual face to face and real life interactions. This will then be cross referenced to their internet and mobile device usage to see whether individuals form virtual relationships that they prefer to real life relationships. The Internet addiction Scale Internet Addiction Test (Young, 1998) was used to see amount of time spent online which will then be compared to how much of that time was spent on a mobile device. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale was used to measure Alexithymia. This is measures whether test subjects are able to identify with fair certainty what feeling or emotion they are currently experiencing. The participants were filtered for age to make sure test subjects were within consenting age and required sample age of 18 to 20 years. Ethics approvals were obtained and explanations of the projects sent to participants over email for fair scrutiny before the study was conducted. Ozkan and Solmaz (2015) make use of “Problem Mobile Phone Use Scale ” (Bianchi and Philips, 2005) to assess the frequency of mobile device usage. This study is on what the authors chose to call “Generation Z” and select participants from age 18 to age 23. The research aims to find out if there is increased mobile phone usage with Generation Z. It also seeks to find out if the perceived increased use also translates to addiction more specifically internet addiction. Addiction in this case is then measured by increased need to use their phones with each subsequent use. As is the case with addiction users become less sensitive to stimulus and there for require increased stimulus with subsequent use. It also aims to find out if the increased use is just out of necessity. The study seeks to find out the effects of mobile addiction on the social life of participants who are all termed as being Generation Z. This research project had 276 participants as test subjects. Analysis and Conclusions The results from Lyvers et al. (2016) show that there is significant correlation between Fear of Intimacy Scale (FIS) scores and Internet Addiction Test (IAT) scores. This then leads to the inference that internet users who suffer social anxiety may as well seek out relationships online that are less demanding on the individual. The same research also returned positive correlation between IAT and Sensitivity to Reward and Punishment Scale (SR). This would imply that internet addiction and device separation anxiety follow the same path ways as other addictions that are spurred on by biological drives and rewards. This implies that respondents treat cyberspace as a sort of reward for inherent fears and drives. Respondents then show likely hood to treat the internet as an escape and would likely indulge in pornography or gaming. This research however did not specifically look to establish such specific variables. Research by Ozkan and Solmaz (2015) on whether respondents think that their online friends are just as important or feel more real than off line friends returned a statistically significant result that Generation Z respondents think that their online friends are just as real as their offline friends. Respondents also reported that they spent more time on their phones in environments where they feel alone or bored. These participants also stated that they check their phones soon after waking up and just after going to bed at night. Chi square analysis of this group’s data also showed that respondents use their phones more often at the time of the study as compared to when they started using their phones. Ozkan and Solmaz (2015) however stated in their findings that there was no statistical indication that the respondents who were all Generation Z we addicted to their cell phones. The heavy use of mobile devices was just a necessity and a factor of modern life rather than an addiction. Reflections From the three research projects discussed here it is evident that there is increased mobile phone use. Mobile phone use is increasingly becoming a part of everyday life. The more cell phones continue to be used in everyday life and becoming more and more important the more they become invisible. It is projected that mobile phones will continue to increase in processing power and continue to be used for more and more tasks in daily life. In the ensuing ubiquity of mobile device usage, cell phones will become less and less visible. They will then become like any other everyday piece of stationery say for example a note pad or a pencil. The results and findings Lyvers et al. (2016) shows that there may be persons in society who tend towards addiction but this addiction is not necessarily cell phone addiction but most likely internet addiction. These results of this study also serve to show that just like any other addiction people prone to cell phone and or internet addiction have underlying difficulties. This is shown by the correlation of Sensitivity to Reward and Punishment Scale to Internet addiction Test scores. It then begs to open an inquiry from this research, can people really be addicted to their mobile devices or just the content and services served up on their mobile devices. Just like an alcoholic is not addicted to alcohol bottles or liquor stores, it would also be possible to infer that perceived cell phone addicts are not addicted to their mobile devices but to content it carries, video games, online chat rooms and so on. Mobile technology is moving away from supply chain structure to a fully integrated ecosystem ranging from media, content to interaction with business. While mobile computing has always been viewed as a tool of business, it is now also a tool for social mobilization and personal organization. Since mobile devices are becoming a more and more integral part of society it is inevitable that society will continue to affect how such devices are used. The reverse will continue to happen where by the way we use our mobile devices will also affect how society is organized and social relations. This area of study has wide over laps between the fields of sociology, psychology and computing. This means that future studies should take a multidisciplinary approach to the issue. This opens up a new field of study and yield new methods to carry out research. It also becomes apparent that there cannot be a quick ‘one size fits all’ approach. It is evident so that areas formally studied in psychology such as pornography and gambling that are served up on the internet and subsequently on mobile devices be studied more as a field of psychology and its impact the field of computing. References Lyvers, M, Karantonis, J, Edwards, M, Thorberg , F 2016, Traits associated with internet addiction in young adults: Potential risk factors, Science Direct Journal OZKAN, M & SOLMAZ, B 2015, MOBILE ADDICTION OF GENERATION Z AND ITS EFFECTS ON THEIR SOCIAL LIFES (An application among university students in the 18-23 age group), Journal of Social and behavioural Sciences. Read More