Rise of the Thumb Kids.(younger generation's use of mobile telecommunications)(Brief Article)(Interview)

In an effort to figure out how mobile phones and the Internet are changing the world, Sadie Plant traveled to Dubai, Chicago, Tokyo and several other cities and interviewed people from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Plant, founder of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit at Warwick University in England, discussed her findings from her home in Birmingham with NEWSWEEK International's Leila Moseley. Excerpts:

How is mobile technology influencing human behavior and changing societies?

In Japan and China, there is a real sense of an increasing generation gap. In China, it is very marked because they have vast numbers of only children moving from the countryside to the cities. In many aspects they lack the traditional family structure, so it is important to use the mobile phone to keep in touch with the family they do have. In Japan, the more contacts people have in their phones, the looser those relationships are. People even 10 years older remember having fewer friends but stronger friendships.

Why has the mobile phone taken off?

This is a period of unprecedented mobility. People are moving more-- whether it's to commute, or as refugees or migrants to the cities. The mobile is answering the demands this ...