Mobile Phones, Deviance, and Self-Control

• In Event: Self-Control, Deviance, and Delinquency: Integration and Innovations

Abstract

Mobile phones are not just tools to communicate with people; their many and assorted functions have come to play a central part of our daily lives. While most phone use is both legal and acceptable, certain phone behaviors, such as sexting, are not. Using a data set that extensively examines mobile phone usage, this study incorporates Gottfredson and Hirschi’s theory of low-self control to examine the relationship between deviant phone use and other characteristics of phone usage that may demonstrate qualities of low self-control. The data comes from Pew Research Internet Project. Princeton Survey Research International gathered the data in 2009 on a nationally representative sample of 800 teenagers (and their parents/guardians) on how they use the Internet and their mobile devices.

Author

• Sun Ho Kim, Indiana University, Bloomington