The second speaker at the IST conference was Dr. Rhonda McEwen, a professor at the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. She spoke about her study on how young people use mobile phones during the first year at university – a time of major transition in their lives.
She studied 175 University of Toronto and Ryerson University students, aged 17-22. 58% were female and 60% were Canadian born. 43% had left home for the first time, and were feeling vulnerable and lonely. So it makes total sense that 85% called their friends and family on a daily basis. Mobile phones are the technological ties that bind. (continue reading…)