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Social functions of location in mobile telephony

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Abstract

Location appears to be one of the most important aspects of context in mobile communication. It is a complex piece of information involving several levels of detail. Location intertwines with other relevant aspects of context: the parties’ present activity, relative time and identities. The analysis of mobile conversations provides insights into the functions of “location” for mobile users. Most mobile calls involve a sequence in which location is reported. Location is made relevant by the parties’ activities. Location telling takes place in five different activity contexts during mobile calls. Location may be an index of interactional availability, a precursor for mutual activity, part of an ongoing activity, or it may bear emergent relevance for the activity or be presented as a social fact. Typically, joint activities make relevant spatio-temporal location such as distance in minutes from the meeting point via the vehicle used. For users, location does not appear to be relevant in purely geographical terms.

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Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Ilpo Koskinen, Esko Kurvinen, Ditte Laursen, Kalle Toiskallio and Alexandra Weilenmann for their helpful suggestions and comments.

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  1. Department of Sociology and Social Psychology, University of Tampere, 33014, Tampere, Finland

    Ilkka Arminen

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  1. Ilkka Arminen
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Correspondence to Ilkka Arminen.

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Arminen, I. Social functions of location in mobile telephony. Pers Ubiquit Comput 10, 319–323 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-005-0052-5

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