Adolescents and mobile telephones in rural areas

The present article shows the findings of research on a group of secondary school students from an agricultural district in inland Galicia. Research methods used include quantitative and qualitative techniques as well as participant observation. The authors analyze to what degree and for what purpose rural youth communicate via mobile telephone and if gender accounts for any significant differences in this usage. Our findings show that rural youth are indeed avid users of mobile telephones and suggest that because of this they are getting around the physical and technological inaccessibility and isolation inherent in rural areas.