Effects of Mobile phone on youth

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INTRODUCTION TO MOBILE PHONES IN INDIA
The growth of mobile phones in India and in particular their popularity and use by young people in India has been the object of international and national media attention in the past few years. In 2004, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that ―youth drives India’s mobile phone revolution‖ Cell phones have grown at an unprecedented rate in the Indian subcontinent in the past few years. The Telecom and Regulatory Authority of India reported that over the last year, cell phone subscriptions have grown almost 50 percent— from 261 million to 506 million. Mobile phones came to India in the mind-1990s, when the Indian government liberalized the economy to let Western companies and products entered the Indian market .Initially due to high costs, mobile subscriptions were very few and the service was mainly adopted by business executives and professionals. However, in January 2000, the government introduced a new policy called NTP99, which replaced the high-cost, fixed licensing regime with a lower cost licensing structure leading to a drop of over 90% in cellular tariff rates The lowering of costs, which encouraged price wars among the cellular operators, and their promotion as fashionable technology has led to a massive boom in the mobile phone subscription levels, especially among the younger population, a leading Indian news magazine, India Today, reported that 70% of urban youth between the ages of 18 and 30 years owned a mobile phone, but only 23 percent of them owned a PC or a laptop .The India Today survey found that young people use mobile phones mainly for communicating with family and friends. News reports have suggested that young people use cell phones as personal entertainment devices for listening to music, downloading ringtones or wallpapers, playing mobile games and receiving sports updates In addition to the personal communication and entertainment activities, young people are also using cell phones as public communication medium to engage and collaborate on social and political issues. For example, in the aftermath of Mumbai attacks, in November 2008 when a group of terrorists bombed the city of Mumbai, youth activists organized a protest at the Gateway of India in Mumbai using cell phones and social networking websites. It was estimated that almost 20,000 people showed for the ―0312 Walk for Peace‖. Another example of how young people are using cell phone for political issues is in the war-torn Kashmir valley, where young people use their mobile phones to circulate short videos clips through mobile phones and YouTube clips highlighting atrocities against people in Kashmir by the security forces media and government institutions are also using cell phones to reach out to young people. News and entertainment companies are engaging young audience by incorporating text messaging into television programs. For example, the ―Indian Idol,‖ a reality talent hunt music show targeted at young people, asks audience to send votes for their favorite contestant via text messages. During the 2009, Indian general elections, Indian political parties launched text messaging campaigns to reach out to young voters. In addition, they hired Bluetooth kiosks in malls, where people could download pictures, messages and ringtones. The news organizations developed election packages to distribute information about local political candidates through cell phones. The police used cell phones to send safety updates during elections. The citizens used mobile phones to persuade people to go out and vote and monitor election irregularities.

In addition to their growing role in public communication activities, mobile phones are also becoming important for news, particularly user-generated news also known as citizen journalism. Mobile citizen journalism can be defined as ―citizens posting media directly from a mobile phone to the Internet or other mobile phones, and an online public More than half of India’s population is under-25 years of age and mobile phones are the only medium that reaches more than half the Indian population. As their significance for public communication and journalism is growing, it is imperative to understand their use by young people, who are their largest consumers. What are young people in India really using mobile phones for personal or public communication or for news or entertainment. Mobile phones in India In India, the first set of cellular licenses was awarded to the private sector in 1994, permitting the launching of mobile phones in the metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, The second set of licenses were given out in 1995 to operate in the 19 telecommunication circles.When mobile services were introduced in the country, the whole country was divided into 23 circles, which were classified in Metros, A, B or C. Initially due to high costs, mobile subscriptions were very few and the service was mainly adopted by business executives and professionals. However, in January 2000, the government introduced a new policy called NTP99, which replaced the high-cost, fixed licensing regime with a lower cost licensing structure. The new policy led to a drop of over 90% in cellular tariff rates. The lowering of costs, which encouraged price wars among the cellular operators, led to a massive boom in the mobile phone subscription levels. Additionally, the availability of cheap handsets and the launch of mobile valueadded services (MVAS) have added to heavy adoption and use of mobile phones. In order to make up for low revenues due to the flexible cost-structure, mobile service providers launched a host of mobile value-added services (MVAS) such as short messaging services (SMS), ringtones and wallpapers. The MVAS in India has been divided into three different categories – Entertainment VAS, Info VAS and mCommerce VAS (Internet and Mobile Association of India, 2008). The Entertainment VAS includes jokes, Bollywood ringtones, games, dating and chatting services. Info VAS includes services that provide useful information, for example, information about movie tickets and news. The mCommerce VAS services involved financial transaction using the mobile phone, for example, mobile payments (buying movie tickets using mobile phones). The MVAS usually use the short messaging services (SMS) or text messaging platform. The MVAS such as text messages, multi-media messages (MMS), Entertainment VAS and Info VAS are highly popular among young people and present another critical factor in the growth of mobile communications in India.The mobile service providers mainly offer two types of technology: (1) global satellite management (GSM) and (2) code division multiple access (CDMA). The companies offering GSM standard include Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, whereas those offering CDMA include BSNL, Tata and Reliance. One of the main differences in the two technologies is that GSM allows calls to be made to and received from anywhere, whereas CDMA allows limited mobility and restricts calls to specified locations. In India, the mobile phone companies provide both the postpaid or prepaid option. In the postpaid option, the

consumer has to pay monthly bill of all the mobile services used. In the pre-paid option, the consumer can buy services worth a certain amount in advance and can use them during the specified period. The pre-paid option is very common among young people, because it allows them to manage their mobile phone bills within a specified budget set by parents. Purpose of the Study:The main objective of this survey is to examine the use of mobile phones by young people between the ages of 18-25 and its social effects on them. In this study, it is assumed that young people in the ages of 18-25 years, who have not achieved an adult status because they are still continuing their education, are not married and have not achieved financial independence, will use mobile phones for some of these development-related needs. Typically, by the age of 18, individuals make an important transition from school to college life in most countries. However, the exact age of this transition may vary. Mobile phones in India not only provide wireless interpersonal communication, but they have now evolved into multi-media devices that allow for a host of different communication and multi-media functions. In this study, mobile phones are seen as multi-media technology that can be used for communication and media-related activities. As a communication technology, mobile phones facilitate various kinds of communication through voice calls, text messages, picture messages and video messages. As media devices, mobile phones can be used for various media-related activities such as accessing news alerts and video clips or listening to music and taking pictures. In this study, it is assumed that young people will use mobile phones for both of these activities. Significance of the Study:The popularity of cell phones among young people is not unique to India, but it is a worldwide phenomenon. The formation of a global youth culture around mobile phones is an emerging topic of academic interest and research. Several studies have been conducted on the use of mobile phones among young people in different countries across the world such as Japan, Norway, Finland, USA, and Britain. This study adds to the growing body of research by providing empirical information about the use of mobile phones by young people in India.

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
In this phase of the study, online survey using a structured questionnaire form was conducted by us. The survey was administered to around 100 college-going young adults in the age range of 18 to 25 years. The surveys was carried out from 18th to 25th April, 2013. The survey was participated by 68 males and 22 females. We asked the following questions to the participants and the summary of their responses are as follows.

1) No of mobile phone users.

This proves that today almost all the college going students have a mobile phone and the people not having a phone are vulnerable to social exclusion. 2) Time spent on mobile phones. (just calls).

Statistical majority says that most people spend less than 30 minutes but a large number of respondents also spent more than 2 hours on their phone signaling a big dependence on phone for communication with social group.

3) Mobile phone service mostly used.

Most respondents use voice calling and messaging on their phone proving that communication with your social group and family remains the most important use of mobile phones.

4) No of People affected by the absence of mobile phones in their lives.

Most of the respondents will find life difficult without a mobile phone. This is not surprising considering the growing dependence on mobile phones. Technology has made humans its slaves and getting away from it is tougher than ever.

5) No of respondents who look at their phone regularly during classes for
notifications.

This concludes that most of the respondents do not switch off their phones in the class and occasionally do look at their phones for any notifications. This is a sign of decreasing concentration of a student and those who do it all the time are likely to be impacted in their academics due to this.

6) No of respondents who attend calls in the middle of a conversation

Through this statistic we come to know that mobile phones are conversational breakers which can be irritating, although most respondents do not pick up their phones every time, they do if someone important to them is calling. This tells us that sometimes we give the person on the phone more importance than the one standing next to us.

7) No of respondents who play play with their phones whilst in a social group.

This statistic states that most respondents never do or occasionally play with their phones but sometimes people are more indulged in their phones and they do not pay attention to their social group which can be socially awkward.

8) Type of internet usage.

Through this statistic we come to know that social networking is the number one use of internet on social networking with 54 respondents saying that they use mobile internet for social networking sites. This proves that having a big beaming social life although virtual, is of utmost importance to a youth.

9) Purpose of using social networking sites.

Among social networking chatting is top use is chatting but to gathering information from around the world also is very important from a youth’s perspective.

10) Frequency of updating status on social networking sites.

Status updating is not a common fad among the respondents with 63% of respondents saying that they very rarely update their status.

11) Frequency of buying a new phone.

Most of the respondents do not change their phone compulsively as their earning capacity is not that much in this stage and they are still dependent on their parents for money.

12) Reason for buying a new phone.

Most of the respondents feel the need to change their phones when it is completely used and it starts having problems but development of new mobile technology also plays a key part in certain youth wanting new phones.

13) No of people who think that mobile phone we carry defines our social status.

A very divided opinion among the respondents was observed with equal number of people thinking that a mobile phone does define a person’s social status but there are quite a few respondents that believe that a mobile phone does define their social status and thus they are always looking for the best devices in the market even if their earning capacity isn’t all that much.

CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of this survey was to investigate the use of mobile phones among collegegoing young adults in. Many young adults carry a mobile phone today spending a

considerable time on it. The research, using survey methodology, showed that young
people, who participated in the study, used their cell phones in a variety of different ways to fulfill their communication, news and entertainment needs. Additionally the participants used cell phones to fulfill age-related needs such as expressing individuality, negotiating independence from parents and creating and maintaining friendships. In a way it has a good effect on their social lives as they can contact anyone close to them by the press of a button but technology has made the youth its slaves as is evident from the survey that almost 50% of the respondents saying that their life will be very tough or they cannot even think of a life without a mobile phone. Mobiles have become such an integral part that meeting someone face to face has become redundant. It is not difficult to spot a group of people sitting together, where no one is talking to each but everyone is busy on their phones and also if two people are having a conversation and suddenly the phone of one of them rings then the person will immediately pick up the phone thus giving the person on the phone importance over the person standing next to him. Social networking is such a huge part of a young adults life so they use their smartphones to access social media as it is more convenient Many young adults believe that their phone defines their status in the society so they give utmost importance to buying the best phone in the market.

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR PROFESSOR Ms NIRMALA DEVI FOR HER CONSTANT GUIDANCE AND MOTIVATION THROUGHOUT THE TIME WE WERE DOING THE PARTICULAR SURVEY. WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR PARENTS FOR THEIR ENCOURAGEMENT AND SUPPORT. LASTLY, WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE RESPONDENTS FOR GIVING THEIR PRECIOUS TIME TO PARTICIPATING IN THE SURVEY.

AVI SINGH (12103012) ASHISH YADAV (12103009) SUNIL KUMAR (12104008)

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) Mobile phones in India – www.trai.gov.in 2) link of online form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GZrKKTVC5bgG5NesqvAZsRfs0AaSqQW0S5lSF 4GH1a4/viewform

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