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Families without Borders: Mobile Phones, Connectedness and Work-Home Divisions

Australian National University, Australia, judy.wajcman{at}anu.edu.au

Michael Bittman

University of New England, Australia, michael.bittman{at}une.edu.au

Judith E. Brown

University of New England, Australia, jude.brown{at}une.edu.au

This article examines the widespread proposition that the mobile phone dissolves the boundaries that separate work and home, extending the reach of work. It analyses data derived from a purpose-designed survey to study social practices surrounding mobile phone use.The key components of the survey investigated here are a questionnaire and a log of phone calls retrieved from respondents' handsets. Rather than being primarily a tool of work extension, or even a tool that facilitates greater work-family balance, we show that the main purpose of mobile phone calls is to maintain continuing connections with family and friends. Our findings suggest that individuals exert control over the extent to which calls invade their personal time, actively encouraging deeper contacts with intimates.

Key Words: mobile phones • social contact • work-family balance

Sociology, Vol. 42, No. 4, 635-652 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0038038508091620


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