Space Invaders: The Negotiation of Teenage Boundaries through the Mobile Phone

Abstract

Drawing on interview data, this paper explores the area of child/parent negotiation. Specifically, we examine the increasing significance of the mobile phone in the way teenagers negotiate spatial boundaries with their parents. Utilising theories of time and space, especially Giddens' concept of 'distanciation', we show how parents and their children use the mobile phone as a tool for negotiating curfews in public space, thus extending household discussion and negotiation outside of the home. We point out that parents are using the mobile phone to enter their children's time and space as an 'absent Other', and see this as a means of extending parental authority and control. Children, conversely, see themselves gaining a degree of empowerment from the mobile phone, as parents are more lenient with curfews if they posses one. The mobile phone, then, has become an important facilitator of negotiations between parents and teenagers regarding boundary setting. We conclude that the mobile phone has enabled teenagers to gain increased leverage in their negotiations with their parents, but underline that parents still hold control and authority by 'invading' their children's space.

The Sleeping Lives of Children and Teenagers: Night-Worlds and Arenas of Action

“…As we indicated earlier, for the teenagers the decrease in parental regulation of their activity and the ensuing greater privacy available in their night-world afforded something quite different: opportunities to interact with friends using mobile phones or the internet.These opportunities were extensively taken up, with teenagers usually leaving the phone on all night 'in case' a text message was received: The use of mobile phones to mediate social relationships is well documented (Taylor and Harper, 2001;Williams and Williams, 2005), and for many of the teenagers in this study one of the most common activities was a final contact with friends using their mobile phones. This utilisation of private times as times for interactions with friends stands in contrast to the younger children's experiences and valuing of similar solitary times as opportunities to be disengaged from the demands of interactions with others and instead enjoy time to themselves.…”

'I had no credit to ring you back': Children’s strategies of negotiation and resistance to parental surveillance via mobile phones

“…Campbell (2006) examined mobile phone use and advertising with teenage girls. Williams and Williams (2005) examined the increasing significance of the mobile phone in the way teenagers negotiate spatial boundaries with their parents. Devitt and Roker (2009) explored the role of mobile phones in communications between young people (11 -17 years) and their parents, and Bond (2010) researched children's perceptions of the impact of the mobile phone on relationships in their everyday lives.…”

“…It allows the parent to monitor their child if they desire to without direct oral communication and is also viewed more positively by children, as explained by Gus in the example above. Williams and Williams (2005) examined child / parent negotiation with young people (15 and 16 year olds). They found that young people see themselves gaining a degree of empowerment from the mobile phone and that the mobile has in fact become a significant facilitator of negotiations between parents and young people.…”

The Use of the Mobile Phone for Religious Mobilization in Niger Republic

“…Several studies have addressed the issue of mobile phone use in public spaces and the intolerance manifested by people toward mobile phone ringing and calls in public spaces (Ling, 2002;Lasen, 2004;Williams & Williams, 2005). However, only a few studies have addressed the ethical and religious issues raised by mobile phone ringing in sacred contexts.…”