Rich Ling is a senior research scientist at Telenor, Norway’s largest telecommunications company, where he researches issues associated with new information technology and society. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Udine, Italy. Ling has published numerous articles and has organized and participated in numerous international conferences. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Colorado, Boulder in his native U.S.

"...an important, accessible book on mobile telephony that is well worth reading." - J.R. McNeill, Interactions"This powerful book illustrates the dramatic changes that have been provided by the social dynamics of the cell telephone and the ways that many long-held customs are changing: What is polite? How important is the time for a meeting when participants reschedule continually? What do we mean by a community or social group? And why are those short, inconvenient-to-type text messages more common and more important than voice conversations? Rich Ling provides a compelling examination of the real impact of mobile telephony. It's not about technology, it's about people. We need more of these kinds of studies."--Don Norman, Co-Founder, Nielsen Norman Group and author of Emotional Design."For perhaps the first time in history, it is possible to gain scientific insights into the social impact of a new communication medium in the medium's infancy. Rich Ling combines scientific rigor, penetrating insight, and attention to an extraordinarily timely subject—the social impact of mobile communications. His ideas about "micro-coordination" and "the softening of time" are fundamental. Ling has big ideas about what the new world of always-on and ubiquitous media mean to our daily lives, but he's not an armchair theorist — he was smart and fortunate enough to observe the earliest adopters of mobile telephones first-hand."--Howard Rheingold, Rheingold Associates and author of The Virtual Community."Rich Ling probes the way the mobile phone influences lives, talk and interaction. His carefully documented investigations paint an authoritative picture that will command continuing interest . . .an impressive achievement."--James E. Katz, Ph.D., Professor of Communication, Rutgers University"We're shifting from wired to wireless. People are cutting loose from bounded groups, and want to connect anywhere and at anytime to their social networks. Cell phones lubricate this mobile-ized society. Rich Ling's pioneering work nicely pulls together the dance between mobile communication and the networked society."--Barry Wellman, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, University of Toronto"I can't recommend this book highly enough. You could pack it into your bag and take it on holiday. It's the kind of book that will entertain you as much as the latest Pratchett." - Xristine Faulkner, London South Bank University"This is definitely a book for your shelf (but read it first!) and a copy for the library should help out those students "into" this fascinating and growing subject area. This book could be shared by psychologists, HCI experts and sociologists alike." - Xristine Faulkner, London South Bank University"I wish all books I had to read were this informative and this much pleasure. Thank you Rich Ling for a job very well done!" - Xristine Faulkner, London South Bank University"The book is encyclopedic in its documentation, statistical and textual, both of mobile telephony and, especially, of sociological and social psychological theory. The topic is fascinating, important, and of universal relevance."-John Stuckey in Ubiquity Magazine "In his new book, social scientist Rich Ling provides a sound introduction to the social study of mobile phones, arguing among other points that SMS faces a bleak future." - Howard Rheingold --The Feature"This timely publication makes for very interesting reading." - Choice --M.Y. Rynn

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Making Sense of Mobile Telephone Adoption Chapter 3: Safety and SecurityChapter 4: The Coordination of Everyday LifeChapter 5: The Mobile Telephone and TeensChapter 6: The Intrusive Nature of Mobile TelephonyChapter 7: Texting and the Growth of Asynchronous DiscourseChapter 8: Conclusion: The Significance of Osborne's PrognosisAppendixEndnotesBibliographyIndex