Small Circles: Mobile Telephony and the Cultivation of the Private Sphere

Social Theory after the Internet

“…There have of course been many studies about how often people connect with others and across what kinds of distances via telephones (Fischer 1992) and mobile phones (Licoppe 2004). Yet as we saw in chapter 3, the most frequent regular contact via mobile phones, both text and voice, is nevertheless with a small number of people (Ling et al 2014). Analysing mobile call records in Norway for a three-month period from the dominant mobile operator in the country, Ling et al found that most connections are with a small group of people who are close by.…”

Mobilities and the network of personal technologies: Refining the understanding of mobility structure

“…Research show, for example, that macro-mobility deals more with the Internet -email, Skype, social networks, etc.-rather than with mobile or fixed telephones. The majority of the telephone traffic -both fixed and mobile-is local (Ling, Bjelland, Sundsøy and Campbell, 2014). However, we need to warn that much of the research that has been carried out has been conducted in a pre-smartphone era, in which the two worlds -that of the mobile phone and that of the Internet -were almost separated.…”

Social Theory after the Internet

“…A number of studies (Dunbar 2012) have demonstrated that being online does not increase the size of the small group, consisting of a handful or two, of people with whom we have intimate relations, nor the larger groups with whom we socialize (up to 150) or the even larger number of up to some 2,000 that we know by name. Apart from the number of people with whom we interact socially, the geographic reach of online sociability should also not be exaggerated: Ling et al (2014) have shown, for example, that our regular and most frequent contact via mobile phones, both text and voice, is with a small number of people. They analysed mobile call records from the dominant mobile operator in Norway over a three-month period and found that most connections are with a small group close by: 'the mobile phone .…”