“Thematic data analysis focused on
identifying the psychological benefits arising from mobile phone use and
whether mobile phone addiction was occurring amongst this group… It emerged
that some young people are extremely attached to their mobile phone with
symptoms of behavioral addiction revealed in participants’ descriptions of
their mobile phone use.” (Walsh, White, & Young, 2008,
p. 77) .
I found many of the interviewee’s quotes could be pulled
into more than one theme. I think this
is reflective of how our beliefs about friendship encompass the emotions
surrounding friendship, the actions we perform as or expect from friends and
the interactions we have with those we call our friends. Saying caring is a
quality of a friend also indicates that more caring our relationship demonstrates , the tighter the friendship,
that we expect our friends to act towards us with care, that our friends can
anticipate we will care about them and that while we may enjoy our
acquaintances, we don’t particularly care about them.
I was really caught by how each us used the idea of ‘theme’.
I think of theme as a unifier, so I did not look for repetition of a single
word or idea but repetition of a category of words or ideas. Caring, honesty,
being non-judgmental and open…to me, these are personal qualities and I
categorized all of these under the theme ‘qualities of a friend’, but I can see
why others chose to think of honesty under the theme of ‘actions’ or honesty as
its own theme. It made me go back and read the transcripts differently when I
saw how others interpreted what they read.
We have not reached saturation. The end of friendship had
little discussion. What is it about each participant in the friendship that
makes them desire hold on to it? What is it about the nature of the
relationship that makes it worth holding on to? I am curious about the outside
influences on friendships, as well- how others perceive your friendships, what
impact family and other friends/relationships have on friendships. I think we are missing insight into the theme of
how we make friends. There is little in any of the interviews on how we learn
to make friends, what we were taught or modeled as children, how we experience
making new friends, what skills are required and what we can acquire with
practice. A theme that did not get any
attention at all is what impact modern culture has on the experience of
friendship. More than one interviewee mentioned moving. Our culture is highly
mobile and has grown more so in recent years.
It would be super interesting to see what the idea of friendship means to
an older generation versus younger people more familiar with moving every few
years. Several people mentioned work as a location for meeting new friends and
forming lasting friendships. When everyone changes jobs every few years, what
does this mean for the experience of forming friendships that last? Social
media got a mention in an interview- how does broadcasting events and thoughts
to a wide audience measure up as a way to maintain contact with friends? I
think most of us are familiar with those who have a lot of investment in
Facebook and other social sites and who post constantly. It seems to me they
are creating a life filled with intimate acquaintances. It would be interesting
to explore how this theme develops when others are interviewed. The ability to
remain constantly available to and in touch with others- this is a real change
in the way we conduct friendships and is a relatively recent development. Seeing
people sit across a table from each other while texting others is clichéd
behavior. Cell phones are ubiquitous;
what impact have they had on how we conduct friendships?
Note.
From “discoveryresearchgroup.com, 2013, retrieved from http://www.discoveryresearchgroup.com/Landmark/?Tag=Cell%20Phone
References
Walsh, S., White, K., & Young, R. (2008).
Over-connected? A qualitative exploration of the relationship between
Australian youth and their mobile phones. Journal of Adolescence, 31(1),
77-92.
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