In Australia, youth are the most prolific users of mobile phones, however, there is little research investigating this phenomenon. This paper reports a qualitative exploration of psychological factors relating to mobile phone use amongst Australian youth. 32 participants, aged between 16 and 24 years, took part in focus group discussions. Thematic data analysis focussed on identifying the psychological benefits arising from mobile phone use and whether mobile phone addiction was occurring amongst this group. Mobile phone use was believed to provide numerous benefits to users and is an intrinsic part of most young people's lives. It emerged that some young people are extremely attached to their mobile phone with symptoms of behavioural addiction revealed in participants’ descriptions of their mobile phone use. The study provides a solid foundation for further work investigating addictive patterns of mobile phone use amongst youth.

This study explores the meaning of teenagers’ media consumption in terms of identity formation
and autonomy attainment. In domestication theory, media consumption is conceptualized as the
interplay of both media object and content. However, in practical applications, the notion of
object has usually been snowed under by contextual descriptions. In response, this article draws
upon the concept of a triple articulation that, next to media text, separates the object and the
context. Using a multi-method study, we empirically demonstrate the relevance of separating the
object and context dimensions in understanding media consumption. This is especially relevant
in the current age of convergence in which media scholars are confronted with a changing media
landscape, characterized by content that is increasingly device- and context-independent, while a
broad range of devices are appropriated in a multitude of contexts.

The article investigates the shift of much interpersonal communication from phone or face-to-face interaction to instant messaging, especially among teenagers. This objectification of conversation enabled changes in myriad social practices, as well as in regimes of intimacy and truth: new, invisible audiences are introduced to hitherto intimate situations for real-time consultations; intimacy, traditionally based on exclusivity in access to events and information, has to be reshaped under the new conditions as ‘network intimacy‘; formerly separate events collapse into new frames, challenging traditional temporal sequencing of sociability; conversations are imbued with performativities of different sorts; and proof and evidence are introduced into interpersonal spheres where they weren‘t common before.

Some see the internet as a means of exposure to divergent perspectives, while others believe that it is likely to foster echo chambers. We agree that it is important to attend to these possibilities, but we find that this discussion is often framed inappropriately. Drawing on a unique panel survey of the online practices and civic and political engagement of youth (aged 16–21), we find that most youth do not report exposure to echo chambers or divergent perspectives. Rather, most report either being exposed to views that both align with and diverge from their own, or they report not interacting with others about their views on societal issues at all. We also find that particular forms of online participatory activity, digital media literacy activities, and political interest are related to increased reports of exposure to diverse perspectives.