Executive summary of dissertation

In the Spring of 2011 I received a distinction for my masters research at the Open University which I plan to expand into PhD this year. For further information please contact me.

Use of the mobile phone is ubiquitous amongst young people, and the device is the dominant technology in their lives. Increasingly they are using smartphones which can be used to access the internet and run software applications.

Recent UK government research suggests that mobile phones may be a means for young people not in education, employment or training (a state known in policy terms as ‘NEET’) to overcome the digital divide – the exclusion from the benefits of technology experienced by certain sectors of society. With numbers of NEETs in England at an all-time high, this research sought to assess the validity of this claim through an ethnographic study of a group of NEETs participating in a training scheme in London. The study explored their mobile phone use using the theoretical framework of social capital – in which benefits in individual and community status are accrued through the exploitation of networks of acquaintances and contacts.

The results of the study suggest that NEETs are unlikely to use their mobile phones to overcome social deprivation by looking for employment or opportunities. Unexpected findings from the study illuminated how they are making choices about technology, by revealing how the BlackBerry (a Smartphone associated with the business community) has become a dominant device by tying young people into a closed messaging network.

Despite the limited scope of the study, results suggest that there is potential for further work to continue the study of NEET mobile phone use and the digital divide, with a research design which incorporates variables such as educational achievement and gender.