MobileActive.org

Mobile telephony has diffused more rapidly than any Indian technology in recent memory, yet systematic studies of its impact are rare, focusing on technological rather than social change. We employ network surveys of separate groups of Kerala residents in 2002 and again in 2007 to examine recent shifts in mobile usage patterns and social relationships.

Results show (1) near saturation of mobiles among both the professionals and nonprofessionals sampled, (2) a decrease in the number of social linkages across tie types and physical locations, and (3) a shift towards friends and family but away from work relationships in the core networks of Malayalis.

We interpret these findings as support for the bounded solidarity thesis of remote communication that emphasizes social insulation and network closure as mobiles shield individuals from their wider surroundings.

Anyone who has had a phone stolen knows the frustration of trying to rebuild your contact list, not to mention data on the phone that is unrecoverable. Worse, the data stored on your phone can be dangerous in the wrong hands. In addition to being able to impersonate you to your mobile contacts, consider the risk of an attacker who has access to some of all of the following:

• Your saved contacts - names, phone numbers, perhaps also email addresses and physical addresses
• Call logs - calls made and received
• Stored text messages
• A calendar with your appointments, or a task list
• Your mobile email
• Your web browser with stored passwords
• Photos, video and sound recordings stored on the phone and memory card
• Data stored by applications - notes, social networking contacts and posts

Three kinds of tools can lessen the pain of losing your mobile data, and limit your risk should your phone be lost or stolen.

• Backup and restore tools allow you to save a backup of contacts and other data stored on your phone
• Data deletion tools can be used to ‘clean’ a phone completely before disposing of it, giving it away or travelling to a location where you are worried it could be stolen or confiscated
• Remote wipe tools are set up so that if your phone is lost or stolen, you are able to clean it remotely, deleting sensitive data. Many remote wipe tools also allow you to track the phone provided it has not been turned off.