The Martini Effect and Social Networking Sites: Early adolescents, mobile social networking and connectedness to friends

The Martini Effect refers to being constantly connected to people through mobile devices; research into mobile phone use reports that its use may be related to feelings of connectedness. Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are becoming increasingly popular among early adolescents with the majority using them to stay in contact with existing friends. In addition, many adolescents use a range of mobile devices to access these sites. The present study compared feelings of belonging to the friendship group between SNS users who used a mobile device and those who did not. A self-report questionnaire was completed by 337 early adolescent SNS users (11-13 years, mean age = 12.28 years, SD = 0.73). Mobile device users were found to have significantly higher levels of belonging than non-mobile device users and this relationship was partially mediated by the frequency of use of SNSs. It is suggested that these mobile devices not only afford an opportunity for increased use of SNSs and therefore increased interaction with friends but that mobile device SNS users feel constantly connected to their friends.