Teenagers and mobile phones in Malta : a sociolinguistic profile

Abstract

In modern society, telephone communication has come to permeate everyday life. The mobile phone, in particular, has become a ubiquitous feature of contemporary living, deeply affecting the lives of all who have access to it. The impact that the mobile phone is having on teenagers has recently been the focus of extensive research. Teenagers constitute a special group of mobile users since statistics in most countries reveal that mobile companies are witnessing heavy penetration levels in this segment of the market. The mobile phone is viewed by teenagers as an indicator that they are growing up and that they are free. Owning a mobile phone marks a transition between childhood and adulthood. It seems that by purchasing mobile phones for their teenagers, parents "release them little by little" since they allow their teenage offspring to go out alone, but at the same time, remain under parental surveillance through the mobile. Concomitantly, for most teenagers, having a mobile phone removes them from the threat of social exclusion since most of their friends own one and it has become a common practice to give teenagers mobile phones as Christmas or birthday gifts. For many teenagers, the mobile phone has also become a fashion statement. For this reason, they beg their parents to buy them the latest model, in the same way as they twist their parents' arms to ensure that they are only bought clothes that carry well-known brand names. Of course, there is a price to pay when purchasing a teenager an expensive mobile. Research reveals that mobile phones are the target of criminal acts since quite a number of phones are stolen every day. In fact, Green homes in on this point when she discusses school bans on mobile phones: "The school ban on phones gives institutional recognition to the fact that younger children perceive risk in carrying phones, as they might be stolen from them to support a school-based black market for consumer goods". Teenagers are at a period in life in which they consider their peers as possibly the most important people. Thus, they spend a lot of the time with them and very often value their ethos much more than that of their parents.