Inga Tracey 11:53, 7 Sep 2004 (EST)
SOCIAL PROTOCOL
Mobile Phone and Internet
With children from early primary school having access to mobile technology as well as the internet the potential for inappropriate social behaviour is significant. Young people have limited exposure to the expectations of society in terms of social protocols and are often unaware of the consequences of inappropriate use of these technologies.
One of the critical issues is the social encounter that is facilitated by new technologies. These social encounters are the key objectives of young people and they have defined their own set of social protocols in relation to this and the new [technologies]. These social protocols are often contrary to the socially accepted norm. Taking calls in any public domain is quite the norm for young people and this creates problems, in particular, for educational institutions where phone use is proving difficult to regulate. Such behaviour "Privatises public places; when someone talks on the phone, he/she is in their own private place. Talking on the mobile phone in the presence of others lends itself to a certain social absence where there is little room for other social contacts" (Aakhus & Katz, 2002, p.23)"This performance and the linkage of public and private, require people to reconsider the norms and rules of interaction," (Aakhus and Katz, 2002, p.23)
The 'always on' and 'always reachable' assumptions of young users results in issues of appropriateness of times to make/ receive calls as well as the issue of filtering 'callers'. Preexisting [social] protocols regarding accessing people have been changed significantly within youth culture. Previously there were clear physical and social barriers in terms of communicating with people, however the use of mobile phones and the internet have broken down those [barriers] and many young users are exposed to significant risks when communicating via these new technologies. "The electronic consumer becomes his or her own authority" (Davies, 2003, p.67)Potential criminal and anti social behaviour is an ongoing risk for young users of new technologies. Many of the exploitative forces are subtly embedded in the new technology's [processes] and many young users are too naive to identify these forces or are unable to analyse the often complex ethical issues that arise. "The mobile phone threatens...the smooth development of ongoing, face-to-face interactions and thus to social order itself" (Aakhus & Katz, 2002, p.99)"Impossibility to assign a spatial reference to the user, by knowing where your correspondent is, at least approximately, constitutes the background info that helps the management of the interaction." (Aakhus & Katz, 2002, p. 100)
In terms of the 'net generation' a whole raft of ethical issues confront young users. The fairly [limitless accessibility] to sites and chat rooms creates complex webs of connectivity and decision making for young users. Even with parental guidance and governmental guidelines young people are still being exposed to threats to their privacy and safety and social wellbeing.
Inga Tracey 22:57, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
REFERENCES
Caron, A.H & Caronia, L Constructing a Specific Culture Young People's Use of the mobile Phone as a Social Performance Youth Culture and New Technologies
