Can we get around rural isolation? Adolescents and mobile telephones in rural areas: a case study in Galicia

Abstract

This article presents the findings of research examining a group of secondary school students from an agricultural district in ruralGalicia,Spain. Research methods used include quantitative and qualitative techniques such as participant observation. The authors analyze to what degree and for what purpose rural adolescents communicate via mobile telephones and if gender accounts for any significant differences in this usage. Our findings show that rural adolescents are indeed avid users of mobile telephones and suggest that because of this they are getting around the physical inaccessibility and inherent isolation of rural communities.