Emerging patterns of American mobile phone use : Electronically-mediated communication in transition : electronically-mediated communication in transition
Mobile telephony in the United States is gaining ground against high adoption rates in other parts of the world as a medium for both talking and sending text messages. While there is research on the use of written forms of computer-mediated communication in the US using full keyboards (e.g., chat, email, instant messaging), we know relatively little about mobile telephony as an American form of electronically-mediated communication. To address this lacuna, we administered questionnaires using convenience sampling to American college students on two campuses regarding their use of mobile phones for both talking and texting. The results suggest that the mobile phone platform is still a medium in transition but that some usage patterns may be gender-driven or economically-based, and that others may be distinctive to American culture.