A cross-national study of cultural values and contextual norms of mobile phone activity

Abstract

The mobile phone is no longer just a medium of talk. Utilized more for text messaging than calling, mobile devices – with the ascendance of smart phones – are now used for a multiplicity of digital purposes in myriad social contexts. Limited research has been conducted cross-nationally on contextual norms that guide the social uses of mobiles and sociocultural factors that drive these norms. This exploratory study examines the impact of cultural values on mobile phone activity, defined as calling, text messaging or use of other smart phone functions when conversing face-to-face with others. It was found that vertical and horizontal individualism are strong predictors of mobile phone activity in Denmark and the USA. Horizontal individualists, represented by Danes, are significantly more likely than Americans, vertical individualists, to engage in mobile activity when conversing with authority figures and while at work. A cultural values explanation of mobile phone activity is offered along with the salience of this investigation for intercultural new media studies.

Keywords:

• intercultural communication
• mobile communication
• cultural values
• intercultural new media

Notes on contributors

Robert Shuter (Ph.D. Northwestern University) is the director and founder of the Center for Intercultural New Media Research. A pioneer in international and intercultural communication studies, Dr. Shuter is a professor of international communication at Marquette University in the Diederich College of Communication. Recognized as one of the leading researchers on communication across cultures, he has published scores of articles in major scholarly journals including Journal of Social Psychology, Journal of Communication, Communication Monographs, and Management Communication Quarterly as well as in popular press outlets like the New York Times, Crains, Huffington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. Email: [email protected]

Sumana Chattopadhyay is an Associate Professor in the Department of Digital Media and Performing Arts at Marquette University. She completed her Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 2006 and joined Marquette as an Assistant Professor. Her research interests include media coverage of political campaigns and youth voter participation in the political process, cell phone usage patterns across cultures, and media portrayals of crises across cultures. Email: [email protected]