Phenomenology of Mobile Phone User's Experiences About Mobilization in Social Relationships

Technology has important role in communications and shapes people’s relations but also imposes its principles on these relationships. The term “Mobilization” refers to special form of life style characterized by properties such as speed and quantity. This investigation aimed at studying user experiences with regard to mobilization in human relationships. To this purpose, we conducted a phenomenological approach and arranged in-depth interviews with 12 users of mobile phones focusing on different virtual spaces. The use of mobile and virtual networks was researched with the view of "satisfaction and happiness."The obtained data were analyzed with Colaizzi’s 7 steps method and the results revealed 2 themes: “experience from technology” and “relational experiences” with more detailed sub-themes. Results showed that users pass through the stages of “experience from technology” i.e., from “familiarity”, to “attraction”, then “drown to nakedness, “to” pointlessness,” and ultimately “control”. Also participants’ communication experiences showed different types of confounded relationships. This process called mobilization, in which the characteristics, application context, and specific nature of the mobile phone use enter the human relationships and change them. Indeed, mobilization is not a technologic process but is a cultural one. The problem is not the invention but is the feel and urge to use this technology.