Wajcman, Judy

Bittman, Michael

Brown, Judith Elizabeth

2008

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

Sociology, 42(4), p. 635-652

1469-8684

0038-0385

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/3497

en

Sage Publications Ltd

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

Journal Article

Publication