Adolescent Mobile Communication: Transformation of Communication Patterns of Generation SMS?

In this article we investigate the influence of mobile phones (cell phones) on adolescent communication behavior. Three classes of grammar schools students, i.e. 73 adolescents aged 17 to 19, participated in the mixed research design. The research was focused on following topics: contextualizing adolescents’ mobile communication, the symbolic meaning of the device and the transformation of communication with two significant others: parents and partners. We found that SMS (short text messages) are used mostly with peers, and voice communication with parents. Our purpose was to determine how the device was viewed by the subjects in terms of symbolic meaning of the device itself. We were also interested in which functions they use and how they use them, particularly in the possible effects on their relations with both parents and partners. According to Czech young people, the mobile phone is the most important communication device in their everyday lives. Through it they manage their affairs and anchor themselves to their immediate social circle: their friends, partners and families. With the help of mobile communication young people build their own social networks and simultaneously redefine boundaries in their relationships with parents and partners. For adolescents, text messaging is a quiet and simple way to maintain their social network without their parents’ knowledge