ABSTRACT
This chapter examines wireless personal communication in terms of the demographics, attitudes, and social situation of its users. Demographic issues are important given the concern about the commercial uses of mobile communications. For the 1995 survey the results suggest there may be a weak relationship between number of children and ownership of mobile communications. The chapter provides a slender literature on society's interaction with a technological revolution in mobile communications. The literature that does exist can be classified into three overlapping categories. The first is the user category, which describes the needs and behaviors of users. The second is the user within a social or business setting, which would include topics such as symbolism, manners, privacy of conversation, and utility in one's business operations. The third category is the sociological: the effects of mobile communications on the tenor of overall social relationships, its impact on social stratification and power, and on organizational structures.
