Abstract

Abstract The mobile instant messengers could change the lives of average citizens as much as did the telephone in the early part of the 20th century and television in the 1950s and 1960s. Researchers are debating whether the mobile instant messengers are improving or harming participation in community life and social relationships. For this study, 155 participants in two universities completed questionnaires pertaining to their own mobile instant messengers use and feelings of loneliness. We used survey data to examine the effects of the mobile instant messengers on social involvement and psychological well-being. In this sample, the mobile instant messengers were used extensively for communication. Results suggest that greater use of the mobile instant messengers were associated with declines in participants' communication with the people around which in turn creases their loneliness. These findings have implications for research and for the design of technology. Key Words : loneliness, smart paradox, mobile instant messenger

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