Qualitative interpretation of the meaning of mobile phone in the life of female students of University of Isfahan

Communication technologies have become an integral part of life today. Among these, mobile phones have had a significant impact on the personal and social lives of young people, especially university students. The purpose of this study is to describe the meaning of mobile from the perspective of users' experiences based on an interpretive research method. Participants in this study were 15 female students of the University of Isfahan who were selected for an interview through purposive sampling. Based on the analysis of the interviews, two main categories (reciprocal subjectivity and mobile paradox) and five sub-categories (mobile identification, the birth of virtual-self, non-mobile phobia, creating opportunities, and constraining opportunities) were identified in students' experiences of mobile. Findings showed that the understandings of female students of mobile are more than just a means of communication. By establishing two-way communication with mobile, users use its facilities to redefine their identity in cyberspace and sometimes prefer virtual identity over their real self. The attractiveness of mobile and its overuse, in addition to creating dependence on mobile, has made this device a substitute for face-to-face communication. Meanwhile, users tried to justify their dependence by giving a personality to the mobile phone and having a human-like definition of it in their minds. Finally, from the perspective of students' experiences, mobile, in addition to creating various opportunities and capacities, also has many negative implications. These contradictions have caused a dual and paradoxical image of mobile in the minds of users.