Mobile phones, SMS, and relationships - Bond University.pdfVIP

Bond University ePublications@bond Humanities Social Sciences papers Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 1-1-2005 Mobile phones, SMS, and relationships Louise Horstmanshof Bond University Mary R . Power Bond University, Mary_Power@.au Follow this and additional works at : .au/hss_pubs Part of the Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons Recommended Citation Louise Horstmanshof and Mary R . Power. (2005) Mobile phones, SMS, and relationships ,, . .au/hss_pubs/75 This Journal Article is brought to you by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at ePublications@bond. It has been accepted for inclusion in Humanities Social Sciences papers by an authorized administrator of ePublications@bond. For more information, please contact Bond University s Repository Coordinator. Mobile phones, SMS, and relationships Issues of access, control, and privacy Louise Horstmanshof and Mary R. Power ABSTRACT: Text messaging, or SMS (Short-MessogeService), allows users to send and receive short messages from handheld digital mobile phones or from o computer to a mobile phone, giving almost instant access to others so connected. Theprivacy and immediacy of SMS and its widespread use have implications for human behoviour and sociol intercourse. The focus-group research with SMS users reported in this paper provides rich details and nuances of how text messaging affects young adults patterns of communication and social behaviaor. The paper goes beyond documenting comnlonly held beliefs about young adults use of SMS-that it is prevalent and used for coardinotion-to probe issues of privocy, control of access, the dilemma of avoilobility, and gender differences in use. Thepaper examines the way SMS messages ore used not only for the content of the messages per se, but for the sense of being in sociol (phatic) contact with others.