ASSIGNMENT

Can new communication technologies, specifically mobile phones, have negative impacts on the social skills and self-esteem of adolescents and can they become addictive?

Adolescents today face an environment defined by many things. The ever changing world of technology and constant new ways of communication techniques has major influences on today’s generation. Craig (1996), states that the most prominent and influential is the mass media and mobile phones are largely encompassed by this. Deborah Rice of ABC Radio reports that adolescents with mobile phones can face huge bills and phone bullying and now clinical psychologists are reporting a link to depression as well (www.abc.net).

A recent study has shown that there are three distinctive groups of mobile phone users (www.avanova.com). The first is the older generation, whose main use of their mobile phone is for work or emergencies. A lot of parents have only bought a mobile phone for the purpose of keeping in contact with their children – if their children didn’t have a mobile phone, then they wouldn’t have one either.

The second is those people who use it regularly but can picture their life without it. They remember the days when mobile phones were non-existent and if they were ever without one, it wouldn’t be much of a hassle or major deal for them.

The last group is the generation that cannot remember life without a mobile phone and see it as an extension of themselves (www.avanova.com). If they had to spend a day or sometimes even a few hours without their phone they would not feel comfortable or complete. They have become totally reliant on it. It is this third group that I will be focusing on and discussing how the extensive use of mobile phones is damaging self-esteem and affecting the development of social and communication skills among adolescence.

Most adolescents have become dependent on their mobile phones for many reasons: to make contact with friends or family when needed, to keep track of the time, as a calendar, an alarm clock, a calculator, a camera and many more. But they also have become reliant on mobile phones to feel accepted among their friends. Receiving a text message from a friend reinforces a feeling of approval and acceptance. People even judge how popular they are, how well liked they are and how many friends they have by the amount of text messages they receive and this can certainly have a severe negative impact on the adolescent. Imagine what this does to a teenagers self esteem. Even some people in their twenties gauge their popularity by the number of messages they receive so you can only predict the impact this has on a vulnerable, unstable teenager whose biggest worry in their life is acceptance.

So if you look at it this way, the mobile phone can actually be seen to encourage low self esteem among teenagers through its constant availability. Because it is a personal accessory and is always available, an individual will feel rejected and unloved if they are not contacted regularly because there is no other excuse for it (Butler, N. www.childalert.co.uk). Receiving messages and calls is considered the new trend and if someone is excluded, insecurities will quickly develop. It is widely noted that being a part of a ‘clique’ is the most important aspect of social well-being during adolescence (Mussen, P. (1973) p. 100) and being left out of the mobile phone culture by a group of friends can lead to paranoia, tension, a feeling of unacceptance and subsequent rejection from the group.

This is also a major problem if a person doesn’t have a mobile phone. A family may not have enough money to supply their children with mobile phones and therefore these children would be socially rejected on these grounds. Mobile phones are sometimes just another way to separate and show social classes. We all know how important it is in high school to have the ‘in things’ – the cool brands etc. Imagine if your family could only afford a really old model mobile phone, or worse still, none at all. A 2004 survey conducted by The Australian Psychological Society found that while most adolescents described their mobile phone as a 'reasonable' (91%), many adolescents (60%) were keen to upgrade to a better model. This indicates that adolescents are not satisfied with merely having a mobile phone but are likely to want continual upgrades, resulting in added costs for adolescents and families (www.psychology.org.au).

Adolescence is also the time when individuals begin to cross over from the mobile phone being a sign of dependency (needing to call parents etc) to a sign of independence – a personal communication device that only they can use as a contact to the outside world (Funston, A. & MacNeill, K. www.ica.ogo.gov.au). Whether this device is in constant use or not, it reflects on the individual’s social status.
An alarming new incident that has developed from the use of mobile phones is abusive text messaging and mobile phone bullying.
“Mobile phones are a popular choice for bullies. They provide bullies with the perfect means of taunting their target with little fear of being caught as text messages provide complete anonymity. Many pay-as-you-go mobile phones can be bought over the counter and do not require proof of identity, nor is any record kept of the new owner. Calls made from these types of mobile phone are difficult to trace” (www.bullyonline.org/related/mobile).
It is for these reasons that this form of bullying is becoming so popular and widespread. Coupled with the fact that all confrontation can now be avoided, this is the perfect way to tease, ridicule and terrorize without getting in trouble.

Apart from self-esteem problems, the over-use of mobile phones among adolescents and younger children also causes major setbacks in the development of social skills. Using text messaging to avoid confrontation encourages children to always take the ‘easy way out’ when it comes to communication. Their personal skills go down the drain and their ability to communicate face-to-face and in a social environment deplete rapidly – that is, if they were ever developed at all (depending on the age in which they began using mobile phones). While the mobile phone offers convenience, it will potentially damage adolescent social skills for years to come.

Mobile phones have followed the trend of internet chatting with the introduction of text messaging in recent years. This can be very harmful to social development as it allows adolescents an ‘easy way out’ (Butler, N. www.childalert.co.uk) and they are no longer socially equipped to deal with confrontation. While traditionally, adolescence is supposed to be a time of rapid expansion of an individual’s social world (Erwin, P. 1993 p.21.), this potential for expansion is being reduced by the introduction of mobile phones because they allow the individual to say things that they wouldn’t dare to say in personal conversation. An important aspect of social behaviour is the ability to adjust behaviour in different social contexts (Barnes, P. 1995 p.249.) and communication behaviour is becoming so monotonous among adolescents that they are unable to exercise different skills. There is a decrease in ‘person to person’ communication which will make social interaction extremely difficult in adult years.

Arguably the most alarming danger of mobile phone usage among adolescents is the addictive behaviour it encourages. “Psychologists are now warning that some teenagers are becoming so addicted to their phones that their long-term health is threatened” (Elizabeth Jackson, 2005, www.abc.net.au). Not only does the individual damage his/her own social skills, their behaviour can harm others. Butler’s study of children aged between twelve and seventeen showed that they became irritable, restless and fidgety when kept away from their mobile phone for too long (www.childalert.co.uk).

Psychiatrist Andrew Fuller says the amount of effrontery that young people experience when he suggests they might switch off their mobile phone is extraordinary.
“I see in my clinical practices as well as the research that we're doing, many many young people who spend endless amounts of time on their mobile phones, and actually end up with disrupted sleep and poor social habits as a result of their addiction to their mobile phones. And so it certainly contributes to lowered mood, cranky behaviour in their families, and of course, greater difficulty in learning at school” (Andrew Fuller, 2005, www.abc.net.au).

Fuller believes they panic to think that they're actually going to be left.
“They just think that they're actually going to be left out of a discussion that's going to be absolutely vital… It seems that we just have created a round the clock culture. And it's one that young people are just unwilling to let go of, at any cost” (Andrew Fuller, 2005, www.abc.net.au).

There has been a dramatic increase in the amount of text messages sent internationally: from 1999 to 2000 there was a 900% increase, and from 2000 to 2001 there was a 1400% increase in the total number of text messages sent (www.news.bbc.co.uk). This has led to innovative ways of making text messaging cheaper so that children can feed their addiction. In fact, marketing tactics used by the mobile phone industry are similar to those adopted by the tobacco industry (www.cellular-news.com). It is dangerous for individuals to be displaying addictive behaviour so young. It is a time where they are under a fair amount of pressure to fit in, and unlike other addictive things such as cigarettes and alcohol, there is no law against mobile phones and consequently there is nothing stopping children from indulging in such behaviour.

In a society where young people are our future leaders who will decide our economic and political policies as well as our family planning, social and education systems, it is worrying that these people are lacking in social skills (Gibson-Cline, J. 1996 p.3.). Adolescents are setting a new standard for communication for generations to come. The mobile phone is a handy communication tool which keeps friends and family in constant contact – but at what price? Is it worth breeding a generation of addicts and bullies with poor social skills, no personal skills, low self-esteem and learning difficulties all in the name of mobile communication?