Comments
to surveys)
Questions and answers
Comment to the first survey on mobile phones
The students and teachers of the four schools involved in our Comenius project on the use of the mobile phone, worked out a questionnaire which was contemporarily submitted to three social categories: students, housewives and employees.
The most significant data mainly concern the category of the students therefore this last one has been privileged in the analysis of the answers.
Young people are certainly the greatest users of mobile phones, even if except for the Finns, none of the students personally buys them: they prefer to have their parents get them their favourite phone model.
While the Finns and Italians in their choice are mainly attracted by colour and model, the English and the Portuguese are more practical: they privilege a wide range of functions or look at the price of the offered services.
On the whole, the most widely purchased phone is the Nokia while Ericsson and Siemens phones are preferred in England.
The functions still considered fundamental remain both messages and phone calls.
The Finnish boys and girls, together with the Portuguese ones, are also economically independent in the purchase of the recharges.
The latter (Portuguese) spend an average of € 25-50 monthly, the English just more than € 50 and the Italians a little less (about € 25).
The telephone contacts concern mainly friends for the Italian, English and Finnish students, while the Portuguese privilege the daily reassuring call to families.
Even if Italians and Portuguese are convinced that an inconsiderate use of the mobile phone can damage their health they care to switch it off in some places and circumstances. Namely church, theatre and cinema for Italians and Finns while working places, such as school and offices, for the Portuguese or public transports for the English.
On the whole we found this survey very interesting because the mobile is becoming increasingly important in our lives and we should learn to use it in a sensible way.
Besides it was interesting to see that almost all the students of the four countries use the phone in a similar way, with only slight differences.
(Daniela Orsi and Valentina Cucchiaro)
