Managing mobile relationships: Children’s perceptions of the impact of the mobile phone on relationships in their everyday lives

Abstract

This article explores English children’s use of mobile phones in managing and maintaining friendships and relationships in their everyday lives. Based on the accounts of 30 young people aged between 11 and 17, this research adopts a social constructivist perspective to offer a theoretical framework which explores how children themselves actually use mobile phone technologies and understand risk in their everyday lives. This is an interpretative account that offers a methodological rationale for hearing children’s voices and viewing them as experts on their own lives.