Abstract:

Anywhere in the world, billions of mobile phone users are chatting, messaging, spending their times, socializing with other users, and entertaining themselves. In Turkey, as in many other countries around the world, mobile phone has grown incredibly popular and become an object of collective attachment. From the leisure or recreation perspective, many mobile phone users are mostly engaging in spending time by smart phones. Mobile leisure (m-leisure) practice has gained attention as a phenomenon that can develop new application. The purpose of this study is to explore meaning of mobile phones within leisure context among Turkish college students. In-depth interview as qualitative research method was selected to collect and analyze data. Purposive sampling method was applied to individuals using mobile phone. In total, 25 students participated in this study, consisting of 13 men and 12 women. The results of this study revealed six themes titled as boredom and escape, engagement, socialization, entertainment, dependence and explore new experiences. The results highlight that both boredom and escape, and engagement were dominant dimensions for mobile users in leisure context. This research has also indicated that the use of mobile phones in leisure context mainly based on dependence and entertainment as well.

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