The Tactics of Mobile Phone Use in the School-Based Practices of Young People

This paper examines the role of the mobile phone within the everyday lives of youth in contemporary Ireland. The current generation of teenagers can be said to have grown up with the mobile phone, and as such, treat it as a taken-for-granted part of life. This submersion of the technology into young people's lives means it touches upon multiple aspects of their everyday experience. Employing a framework derived from the work of Michel de Certeau, in particular his concepts on tactics and strategies, I will explore how young people use the mobile phone to manage and navigate these experiences. KEYWORDS: de Certeau, education, Ireland, mobile phone, youth culture, tactics, strategies