Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
402079 | International Journal of Human-Computer Studies | 2008 | 14 Pages |
This paper examines the extent to which Japanese adolescents use mobile phone e-mail to bond, bridge, and break with their social ties. Although existing literature shows that adolescents use mobile phone e-mail to bond with intimate strong ties, the fluid nature of social networks during adolescence suggests that mobile phone e-mail may also be used to bridge to new ties and to break with old ties. Drawing on a stratified random sample survey of 501 high school students living in Tokyo, we find that mobile phone e-mail is used both to bond and bridge, but not to break with ties. We also find that the intensity with which Japanese adolescents use mobile phone e-mail is more fundamentally a result of bridging than bonding. These findings apply both to typical users and heavy users.