The Mobile Generation

How great an impact has mobile technology had on society, particularly the education and business spaces, and how is each likely to change the other in the future?'

Today we rely heavily on the use of mobile technology. Being ‘connected’ is a large part of contemporary society. With families and businesses nearly always being able to reach one another, mobile devices have become a fundamental article in most of the world’s citizens’ pockets.

This essay looks briefly at the development of mobile technologies over the past twenty years, studying their influence on modern society, particularly on the business environment, where businesses have been forced to adapt to changes in society caused by the evolution of mobile technology.

Education has also been greatly affected by the popularisation of mobile technology, and this essay will examine the subsequent pedagogical changes and educational uses of mobile technology which are likely to have an impact on the employers of future generations: those ‘pipeline’ employees who are currently in education or pre-education.

An early example of mobile technology is the pager. Designed in the 1950s to enable colleague-to-colleague communication with doctors, in the 90s pagers were more popular than mobile phones as they were economically accessible and easy to carry around (being smaller than a cigarette packet). Engineers and emergency services still use pagers because of their dependability compared to that of the mobile networks.

Before the 1990s, mobile phones were available to the public, but they were expensive, cumbersome and usually only owned by young rich businessmen with disposable income. Owing to their relatively large size, they were mainly used as car phones, or carried around inside a briefcase. The calls were expensive and the handset technology was primitive and temperamental.

The further development of digital technology and the miniaturisation of components enabled mobile phone manufacturers to effectively scale down the handset size. By the mid-90s, mobile phones, although still much larger than they are today, were small enough to be carried in a pocket or handbag.

Mobile phones were desirable by business users and consumers, but until the late 90s providers of mobile networks offered prohibitively expensive rates to make and received calls. As the tariff prices went down, the popularity of mobile phones rose and it became normal to have a mobile phone to keep in touch with friends and family. Businessmen and -women found mobile phones extremely useful as the benefits included being able to have two or three telephone numbers and being able to conduct business on long journeys, which would otherwise be ‘downtime’. Roos discusses this aspect of being mobile, ‘the mobile phone allows for almost complete mobility with simultaneous availability, i.e. the person is in actual reality highly mobile and virtually fixed.’[1]

By the turn of the millennium, there were 750 million[2] people globally using mobile phones and popularity has continued to increase rapidly, reaching 1.5bn[3] in 2004. Today, there are enough mobile phones in circulation for half the world’s population (3.3bn[4]) (some people own more than one device), supported by network coverage of up to 80% of the world. In the UK today, there are more mobile phones than people. Being ‘connected’ is a normality, that society does not think it can be without.

Increased functionality on phones has become a selling point for a number of manufacturers. Elements such as SMS (Short Message Service) have become standard on mobile phones today. SMS, or text-messaging, has become one of the most popular media for communication among young people. Taylor and Harper (2001) in their study of UK school children found them to ‘only use voice conversations when making calls to adult family members as opposed to almost exclusively text-messaging their peers.’[5] In many cases, the mass use of text-messaging denotes a change in societal norms for communication, which is highlighted by Eldridge and Grinter (2001):

One burgeoning use of mobile telephony is non-essential communication, seen by some commentators as a form of 'social grooming', with young people in particular using mobile telephones and messaging services for a variety of social interactions-often for ostensibly trivial but socially significant purposes.[6]

In juxtaposition to SMS usage, young people heavily use instant messaging (IM) to communicate when they are at their PCs. When mobile devices have seamless connection to the internet and IM clients are fully and well supported by the devices, it is a fair assumption that young people will tend to use handheld devices for all their communication needs.

Mobile internet communications, which first operated through WAP (wireless application protocol), began as a slow, expensive, temperamental and limited internet service provided by networks in the early 00s, but subsequently developed to such an extent that the world wide web is now available at fairly low costs from a mobile handset. The current technology used to access WAP is GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), which is available on GSM[7] phones and is faster and more reliable. Some phones allow connection via Wi-Fi to wireless networks. As the content available through this medium is now the same as the internet’s, issues such as viewing a page designed for a 12” screen on a 2.4” screen have concerned and motivated web developers to build web pages specifically designed to enable users to have the same experience on their mobile phone as on their PC. Speaking further about the concept of being mobile, Roos suggests, ‘when this is combined with constant connectedness to the Internet one can really talk of being in the centre of a web, operating a communications centre wherever one is.’[8] Being able to browse the internet whilst on the move is a benefit of mobile technology that would not have been thought of as little as 10 years ago, when the internet became popular. In terms of enhancing business, users are able to use the mobile internet to access web pages, which are increasingly becoming a primary information source, when on the move.

What began as a ‘nice-to-have’ additional feature, the camera in a phone (c.2002) has led to phone manufacturers incorporating functionality that enables life on the move. Extra functionality includes cameras, mp3 music players, internet browsers, video players, organisers and email retrievers. Handset manufacturers are in competition with each other to release the handset with the best value-added functions. Following their unprecedented success with the iPod mp3 and video players, the addition of Apple’s recent and hugely popular iPhone to the handset market in 2007 set the bar high, incorporating sleek and stylish design with touch-screen functionality as the only way to navigate the phone – (i.e. no buttons).

The sociological effects of having numerous functions available on one device are tremendous. People can access any information wherever they are in the world, listen to unlimited music tracks, take snapshots or movies, or manage a business, all with one device. With today’s web 2.0 social media elements including Flickr and You Tube, anyone with a mobile device can become a photojournalist or filmmaker. With technology ever changing and evolving, society will continue to adapt to harness these changes. We have seen such a vast impact in recent years in the adoption of communication media such as text- and instant-messaging, and the social web (e.g. Facebook), that the future will undoubtedly explore new territory. Looking at the trends, it is likely that this future will be mobile based.

The invention of Personal Device Assistants (PDAs) led to technological advancements that enabled people to read, edit and create word-processed and spreadsheet documents and access emails on-the-move. Today many businesses provide their employees with BlackBerries to keep them connected. This is especially useful when employees are out of the office or on the road.

The BlackBerry, shortly after its introduction in 1999, was dubbed ‘Crackberry’ owing to their addictive qualities. Anyone who has used one, or has been in the presence of someone using one, will know that it is very hard not to check a new email, even well outside work hours. Why people feel the need to check their emails late at night could simply be because there is the visible notification in the red LED flashing, or could go deeper, in that they want to feel important and feel their opinion or authority is required. This has ultimately changed the way that people work: ‘downtime’ becomes productive time, play time becomes work time. This can, however, be a strain on friends and family, as time spent together can be interrupted at any point by a red flash or buzz. Roos highlights the positives of being permanently connected:

[Mobile technologies] make possible a much more efficient time use, being able to fill the otherwise 'wasted' waiting times by work or social contacts. It also frees people to combine [different] activities ... Thus, for most users, a mobile telephone is a working tool which greatly facilitates and increases efficiency.[9]

People are able to email on the train on their way home and avoid having to do work when they can be spending time with their family or friends. This raises the question of whether ‘flexible’ work patterns have become the norm, or if employees today have increased workloads. Does the 9am-5pm working day still exist? Has work time become more flexible owing to the increasing means and modes of communication that have added ‘white noise’ to much of the work environment, thereby increasing the number of hours spend doing ultimately non-productive work? Boundaries between work time and leisure time have become increasingly blurred and the work ethic has moved away from its 9am-5pm roots and is becoming more and more flexible. Many companies in today’s technologically driven business world are able to provide flexibility to employees to enable them to spend time with their families, look after young children, or live in another part of the country, or even another part of the world.

Many businesses have replaced fixed desktop PCs in a central office HQ with laptops that the employees can take home with them. Employees are able to work at home if there is something urgent to attend to there (e.g. deliveries or sick partners / children) and remain able to work, being fully connected to their company’s network. In the same way, employees with families are able to benefit from remote working, providing them with the opportunity to log on and off throughout the day around their own timetable.

Although not a direct impact of the technology that enables it, but the societal and work-based changes it has affected, remote – or ‘mobile’ – working can, however, be detrimental to businesses productivity. In many cases, it is essential to have a number of face-to-face hours with managers and colleagues. Not being able to reach a colleague who is not in the office, but is working remotely can be frustrating and can cause projects to slip owing to lack of available decision-makers. Some people find it difficult communicating via email or telephone as opposed to face-to-face. Certain elements of business will need to continue to be conducted in-person owing to the sensitive approach required, e.g. HR, personal development, etc.

This face-to-face time is also becoming more prevalent in education where shifts toward the personal, collaborative and interactive are taking place. Built on sharing and collaboration, two key changes that are taking place in education, personalising learning is becoming a very important element of a school system which, for generations, has remained fundamentally the same. Personalised learning involves the teacher and learner discussing, agreeing on, and setting specific goals for the student to work towards. The era of ‘cramming’ information into learners’ minds with the hope that they remember it for a final exam could soon be over. Assessment will be an ongoing process enabling the teacher and learner to collaborate on the goals and change them if need be. These changes, including personalised learning accounts are highlighted in Government policy[10].

School children today may not have known life without mobile phones, but their knowledge of mobile technology, in some cases, far outweighs that of their teachers. Young people of today are ‘native’ users of technology, which some teachers find increasingly hard to understand. ‘Technology is deeply entrenched in most teens’ lives. But, this may also mean that today’s GenTechs[11] may be tomorrow’s technological leaders, pushing the country toward innovation.’[12] In the UK, nearly all students have mobile phones, PDAs, Smartphones or MP3 players. These mobile technologies permit the approach to teaching to shift towards the mobile. Whether or not this is taken up by both teachers and students is another question.

The changes are emphasised by Bernie Zackary, Head of Pedagogical Frameworks, BECTA: 'The education process is actually shifting outside of the classroom. There is potential here for a cultural change in the way that society views education.'[13]

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) enable learners and teachers alike to devise work plans, schedules, and assignments in a password-protected virtual space that can be accessed from anywhere. Learners are able to log in and view assignments that have been set and complete and submit pieces of work to their teacher or supervisor. This facilitates the learner to work at their own pace in what they are interested in. Selwyn reiterates this,

The traditional notion of the student/subject as passive consumer of information and knowledge in school is replaced by autonomous, dynamic and free-roaming individuals forming harmonious communities and intelligent collectives of learners unfettered by constraints of time or distance[14]

Teachers and students working with mobile devices has yet to become a common practice in schools, but there have been various studies in which universities and schools have piloted the use of PDAs for each student to enable a more interactive and socially collaborative learning experience[15]. ‘The most immediate social effect of mobile telecommunications technologies is their ability to increase the intensity and widen the scope of interaction.’[16]

Brian Heavisides, Headteacher at Redhill School, Dudley, where PDAs have been put in the hands of all pupils and teachers from KS2 upwards, talks of the period as an 'exciting stage where we can inform children of how they are doing, provide the suitable tools which they can select for their own personal learning style, and we can monitor, support, and assess as we go along.’[17]

Providing PDAs or laptops to all students in the country evidently implies an economic strain. However, with progress in the areas that are already using the mobile technology, good practice and findings can be shared, and it would be sensible for potential funders to pay attention. Businesses could easily support future funding, viewing it as a win-win in terms of routes to market as well as pipelining students as the next generation of business leaders.

Steve Molyneux, an expert in learning technologies, envisions,

...a future in which everyone will have an electronic personal learning associate. This device will be portable, and as convenient to use as a mobile phone, assemble learning or mentor presentations on demand and in real time – providing quality learning opportunities anytime, anywhere...tailored to the needs, capabilities, intentions, and learning state of the individual or group of individuals using the device. Communication with the personal learning associate will be via a two-way natural language interface.[18]

Market trends and the rapid development of technology will undoubtedly ensure that the cost of manufacture will go down, and the opportunity for schools, areas, and local businesses will hopefully be able to afford to provide the technology that is required.

As part of the Government’s soon to be launched 14-19 diplomas, the IT Diploma has been developed alongside employers working with schools and sector skills councils to create business-focussed delivery materials. Various levels of the diploma cover learning the potential of technology and the use of technology in the workplace. This includes understanding elements of technology, organisational processes, professional development, creating technology solutions, multimedia and digital projects, making projects successful, and managing technology systems.[19]

Large companies, including Vodafone, understand the need for, and are already working closely with schools to encourage the collaboration and interaction between students, schools and business mentioned in the previous section.

In order to compete in the global economy, UK companies urgently need more young people to understand technology in business. The Diploma represents a significant step in the right direction. The content and delivery of the Diploma will help to develop young people both for demanding university courses and rewarding, flexible careers.[20]

In this new qualifications framework, government mandate dictates that it is a joint responsibility for both schools and businesses to try to encourage not only collaboration between institutions, but to make sure that the learners are involved too, from site visits to offering work experience. The ’14-19 Education and Skills Implementation plan’, from the Department for Education and Skills (now Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and Department for Children, Schools and Families) published in December 2005, states that:


Local authorities and the LSC [Learning and Skills Council] will be under a duty to co-operate with one another as they discharge their duties, so that there is coherence in the provision across the full 14-19 age range. This duty will underpin the creation and strengthening in all areas of 14-19 partnerships, which already exist in many areas. Partnerships, convened by the Local Authority and the LSC, will need to include schools, colleges, training providers and employers, but each area will need to decide the detailed composition of the partnership itself.[21]

Future members of the business workforce are bound to have an impact on the way businesses operate. Today’s young, ‘mobile generation’ (Generation Y) interact differently to the current working generation (Generation X), in many cases using technology as a preferred medium, and they learn and work in a different way. A generation of users that exploit ICT, from mobile devices to social networking to software packages, will be prepared for the future use of technology in the workplace, much more than those that have joined the workforce in the past, who simply use ICT.

Can the future be predicted accurately enough to know how the future generations may behave in a work environment and how much the workplace may need to adapt to receive them? Pupils learn what they want, when they want. Excluded pupils log in to VLEs and work on projects collaboratively or individually with remote tutors. If pupils are used to working on what they want when they want, how will they respond to the traditional 9-5 working culture? Perhaps the future working generation will be better prepared because they are the so-called ‘information generation’, used to 24-hour multi-tasking and constant communication.

It is changes like these that will impact most on businesses because a technology generation gap in the workplace can have a negative impact on productivity. Working practices will no doubt change. When will the fully virtual organisation really happen? In order for the business world to predict the changes, working closely with education now and continuing involvement will allow businesses to adapt to the learners’ standards, norms and methods of learning / working.

Mobile technology’s impact thus far has been enormous, transforming the way business, education and society operates – re-writing cultural norms. What will decide the business leaders and education of the future will be those that are fully able to appreciate, understand and focus on the impacts that technology can have on one another. Those that adopt new technology and exploit its functionality will be those that succeed in a fast-paced world where both technology and future generations are becoming increasingly sophisticated and reliant on each other.

[1] Roos. J.P., (2001) Postmodernity and mobile communications. Paper presented to the 5th European Sociological Association Conference, University of Helsinki; Finland, August.

[2] Garfield, L., Mobile phone usage doubles since 2000, but growth to slow, http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/5636.html, December 2004

[3] Garfield, L., Mobile phone usage doubles since 2000, but growth to slow, http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/5636.html, December 2004
[4] Global cellphone penetration reaches 50 %, Thu Nov 29, 2007, http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=media&storyID=nL29172095

[5] Taylor, A., & Harper, R., (2001) Talking activity: young people and mobile phones. Paper presented to Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: Seattle; WA, April.

[6] Eldridge, M., & Grinter, R., (2001) Studying text messaging in teenagers. Paper presented to the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Seattle, WA, April.

[7] GSM: originally from Groupe Spécial Mobile, GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) is an open, digital cellular technology used for transmitting mobile voice and data services. GSM differs from first generation wireless systems in that it uses digital technology and time division multiple access transmission methods - http://www.gsmworld.com/technology/what.shtml

GSM is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. GSM Association, estimates that 82% of the global mobile market uses the standard - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gsm

[8] Roos. J.P., (2001) Postmodernity and mobile communications. Paper presented to the 5th European Sociological Association Conference, University of Helsinki; Finland, August.

[9] Roos, J.P., (1993), 300,000 yuppies? Mobile phones in Finland. Telecommunications Policy, 17(6), pp. 446-456.

[10] White Paper – ‘Every Child Matters’ – Department for Education and Skills, 2004

[11] GenTech – the technology generation

[12] Fawkes, P., GenTech: Hey, The Kids Are Ok!, http://www.psfk.com/2006/06/gentech_hey_the.html, June 2006

[13] Zakary, B. in Secondary ICT - Personalised Learning with ICT 3, (video) March 2005, http://www.teachers.tv/video/169

[14] Selwyn, N., (2003) Schooling the Mobile Generation: The Future for Schools in the Mobile Networked Society

[15] John Traxler, Learning and Teaching Research Fellow, Mobile Learning, http://www.learninglab.org.uk - see appendix 1 for list of institutions.

[16] Selwyn, N., (2003) Schooling the Mobile Generation: The Future for Schools in the Mobile Networked Society, British Journal of Sociology of Education, Vol. 24, No. 2. (April 2003), pp. 131-144.
[17] Heaviside, B. in Secondary ICT - Personalised Learning with ICT 3, (video) March 2005, http://www.teachers.tv/video/169

[18] Molyneux, S., The Future of Learning, Learning Lab Journal, Summer 2002

[19] Criteria for the Specialised Diploma Qualifications in Information Technology at Levels 1, 2 and 3, QCA, November 2006

[20] Andy Hill, Head of Resourcing at Vodafone and a member of the Diploma Development Partnership, in e-skills UK’s Diploma in IT General Leaflet, September 2007

[21] DfES ’14-19 Education and Skills Implementation plan’ December 2005 p 46.