Virtual Mobility of Urban Youth: Ict-Based Communication in Sweden

Abstract

This study explores how urban youth fit the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) into their everyday lives. Their virtual mobility may be lasting and have long-term effects on activity patterns and socio-spatial structures. We focus on the types of activities that become ICT based, and whether the extended networks fostered by virtual mobility affect local interaction, physical mobility, and face-to-face meetings. The study is based on an indepth, two-wave panel study of young people living in Gothenburg, Sweden, supplemented by national ICT-use survey data. Results show that young people use computers for one and a half hours per day, and half of this time is spent online. Time spent on ICT use is increasing, and ICT now encompasses a broader range of activities. The Internet is mainly used to communicate with people already known in 'real life'. Contacts are both geographically far-flung and very local. ICT use is found to generate additional contacts and communication rather than replace telephone calls and travel. Copyright (c) 2005 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.

Activities and Activity Patterns Involving Travel Abroad while Growing up: The Case of Young Swedes

“…The more specialized or 'advanced' a person is, the larger the space in which he or she needs to move in order to meet and interact with the like-minded. The possibilities of forming and sustaining such communities of interest and competence have increased tremendously with the rise of virtual communication over the Internet (Wellman 2001;Thulin and Vilhelmson 2005). In many cases, physical travel forms no part of the interaction in such specialized networks, while in other cases -such as elite-level sports -intermittent face-to-face interaction is critical.…”

Connected Youth

“…This shift in young people's experience of space can largely be explained by the recent rapid increase in Internet access and use among young people. Today, this access is ubiquitous in most developing countries (Wellam & Haythornthwaite 2002;Lenhart, Arafeh, Smith, & Macgill 2008;Thulin & Vilhelmson 2005;Warschauer & Matuchniak 2010). By accessing the Internet at school, at home, or in public places, young people can connect to sources of new experiences that were unimaginable a few years ago (Buckingham 2003;Edwards & Usher 2008;Leander, Philips & Taylor 2010).…”

Distant Friends Online? Rural and Urban Adolescents’ Communication on the Internet

“…This process of ‘individualisation’ may lead to diminishing density and extension of social networks, networks considered of utmost importance for individuals as sources of social and emotional support. Thulin & Vilhelmson (2005) distinguish two apparently opposing trends in social networks. People may spend more time alone at home using information and communication technology (ICT) to tap into virtual interpersonal social networks with a growing geographical extension, resulting in less time spent in the local community (Thulin & Vilhelmson 2005, p. 489).…”