MOBILE NEW ZEALAND

Worldwide use of mobile phones has created a new§basis for §interpersonal communication and has become a§ubiquitous feature §of youth culture. This thesis focused on university§students use of §mobile communication in New Zealand in the context of§their §everyday practices. The study was designed as a§cross-national §comparative research project with a focus on New§Zealand. The §usage behavior, experiences, attitudes, and opinions of §young NZers towards mobile phone use was examined and §contrasted to young German and American students.§This research §focused on general mobile phone use, text-messaging§(SMS), the §acceptance of Third Generation (3G) cell phones,§mobile phone use §in public places, gender-specific usages, and mobile§social §networks. Methodological and data triangulation was§applied. §Results indicated that the number of providers as§well as tariff §structures appear to influence mobile phone adoption§within a §country. To adjust to the duopoly situation, young§people in NZ §preferred prepaid cards in connection with a SMS§package. This was §reflected by extraordinarily high use of SMS in NZ.