Tokyo Train Observations

As part of our research on mobile phone use in Tokyo, we conducted extensive observations on trains in the greater Tokyo area. The most foundational finding is that people use the non-voice functions of the mobile phone most extensively (email, web). There are limited instances of people receiving voice calls, but the calls are generally ended quickly. There are virtually no instances of people initiating voice calls on trains. In our observations we did not see a single instance of laptop usage on the train.

Train as mobile phone text chatting space

First, I wanted to give you just one example (from one of the our communication diaries research) of an extended mobile phone texting conversation on public transportation.

Female college student, age 20.
22:30 (boards bus)
22:24 (send) Ugh. I just finished (>_<). I’m wasted! It was so busy.
22:28 (receive) Whew. Good job. (>_<)
22:30 (send) I was running around the whole time. Are you okay?
22:30 (Only other passenger leaves. Makes voice call. Hangs up after 2 minutes when other passengers board.)
22:37 (send) Gee I wish I could go see fireworks ( ; _ ; )
22:39 (receive) So let’s go together! I asked you!
22:40 (gets off bus and moves to train platform)
22:42 (send) sniff sniff sniff ( ; _ ; ) Can’t if I have a meeting! I have to stay late!
22:43 (receive) You can’t come if you have to stay late?
22:46 (send) Um, no… I really want to go… ( ; _ ; )
22:47 (receive) Can’t you work it out so you can make it?
22:48 (boards train)
22:52 (send) Oh… I don’t know. If I can finish preparing for my presentation the next day. I really want to see you. (>_<) I am starting to feel bad again. My neck hurts and I feel like I am going to be sick. ( ; _; ) Urg
22:57 (receive) I get to see you tomorrow so I guess I just have to hang in there! (^o^)
23:04 (gets off train)
23:05 (send) Right right. I still have a lot of work tonight. I can’t sleep!

People often see public transport as prime time for email because of the limits on voice communication and because they are killing time, what in Japanese they call “himatsubushi”.

Seeing our interview data, there are a few people who have Personal Handy phone mobile (Air H”), but we did not observe a single person who using a laptop or PDA during our observation. Because of terrible crowds (in the morning), frequent transfers and unstable connectivity, it is more convenient for commuters to use mobile phones than laptops.

Growing sophistication in regulation efforts

Text messaging gets used in relatively unregulated contexts such as the home, but are most characteristic of communication in regulated contexts like public transportation. There is a lot of public outrage in Japan as elsewhere about bad manners in mobile voice communications. Even though surveys have shown that youth do not make voice calls on public transportation very frequently at all, there is still this public perception. According to our observation, the rate of using mobile phone for call is 25.5%. I n contrast, texting usage rate is 57.6%.

There is a growing and increasingly sophisticated set of efforts at regulating mobile media use on public transportation (see below), but this focuses mainly on voice calls.

Download file

Download file
The posters inhibiting mobile phone usage

A few years ago, the announcements on trains would simply say please do not use your mobile phone. Now the signage and announcements tend to specify not to use mobile voice communications. On trains, there is not surveillance in each car, but on the bus, the drivers will ask users to hang up before entering the bus, or make an announcement if they see someone talking on the phone. More recently, on one train line in Japan they have introduced a priority mobile-free seating area presumably for people with pace makers that would be off limits to even texting and net surfing.

Email availability check ---Voice as increasingly a secondary modality

In this context, youth generally think the prohibitions are stupid and unnecessarily strict. But when we look at their mobile phone usage, they are acutely aware of manners and the perceptions of others. Often the reasons for using email as opposed to voice even if they are not in a public place is because they are afraid that their friend may be, so that is it more polite to use email. Voice calls are generally a secondary modality in part, because it is more expensive than email (with each short message costing about the equivalent of 2 cents) but also because of the uncertainty as to whether their interlocutor will be in a regulated space. Most heavy users, so most youths do not leave their ringers on when they are out of the home. Manner mode, or silent mode is the default modality because of the fear that the phone will ring on public transportation.