Mobile sociality and the use of the network of personal technologies

Abstract

The article investigates how personal technologies interact with the sociality of young people in a context of long-distance mobility. We focussed on a group of individuals–expatriates and internal migrants–who are highly mobile, multilingual, multicultural, sometimes also multinational, highly educated, and who extensively use personal technologies to support their sociality. The long-distance mobility of these young adults has been discussed so far in socio-economic terms, but scholars have substantially neglected to explore how these young persons manage their sociality and communication as well as the sustainability of their life in the long run. We adopted a qualitative approach and conducted 23 interviews with a convenience sample. The main results highlight three implications, due to the intensive use of personalised technologies: (a) when the spatial distance is great, close relationships are strengthened; (b) the relationships with new friends are evaluated less than those with the friends left behind; (c) the role played by digital media is only positive (not ambivalent as in sedentary contexts) since it is only thanks to these media that the young adults are able to manage their overall sociality. Moreover, these people tend to stay in a mobile status, which risks being detrimental for them. Finally, but not unexpectedly, mobile sociality emerges as a dimension full of tensions and contradictions.

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