How the young communicate in the digital era
SMS, e-mails and chat rooms reveal a growing tendency to use acronyms and abbreviations to describe moods and feelings in the name of speed, synthesis and simplification. Nowadays, young people don't just use their mobile to talk and download, bluetooth, UMTS are terms that recur frequently, used to indicate functions and features whose use and above all potential are largely unknown.
In collaboration with the Turin International Book Fair, Vodafone Italia, the event's main partner, is launching an initiative to explore the linguistic changes brought about by the use of new forms of writing, and especially by SMS, mobile phone and web language. The aim is to identify initiatives and ideas for stimulating young people to make responsible use of the new digital communication tools.
The idea is to inform the young about the principal risks and potential of mobile phones and understand in what ways mobiles are changing how they communicate, their language and habits. The initiative consists of a series of meetings with some classes in a secondary school in Turin and the surrounding province. The meetings will be led by Augusta Giovannoli, whose field is the promotion of reading through new technologies at the Multimedia Library in the city of Settimo Torinese. She has been working on these issues for some years with schools and local government bodies.
The result of these meetings will be the starting point for the roundtable discussion, "Young people and language. How Internet and mobiles are changing communication", promoted by Vodafone and the Book Fair, scheduled for 6.30pm on 8 May at the Bookstock Village area. Participants will include Ugo Volli (who teaches semiotics at the Arts faculty of the University of Turin), Luca Bianchini (a writer and host of "Colazione da Tiffany" on Radio 2), Caterina Torcia (Corporate Responsibility Manager at Vodafone Italia), and Alessandra C (a journalist who specialises in the world of the Internet and lifestyle issues).
The roundtable discussion will launch the competition "1 SMS in search of an author. Your favourite literary character in 160 letters" aimed at stimulating the creative use of mobile phone writing, an event whose conclusion will coincide with "Portici di Carta" in September. From 8 May to 31 August all those who wish to participate must describe their favourite literary character in 160 letters (info and details at www.fieralibro.it and www.vodafone.it) and send the message to the number 340 4399018. Prizes include some of the very latest mobile phones and book vouchers.
This year Vodafone Italia has put together a "Guide to the responsible use of mobile phones" to provide adults, and especially parents, with the information and tools required to improve their understanding of the uses and language of technology. Produced in partnership with Save The Children and the Postal Police, the guide includes an introduction by Professor Chiara Saraceno and is sponsored by the Ministry of Communications. The "Guide to the responsible use of mobile phones" is a simple, easy-to-read document to help people clear up any minor doubts and to be consulted in case of need.
Finally, Vodafone is offering all visitors to the International Book Fair its traditional and much appreciated free SMS information service, open to all independently of the operator used. To subscribe, all anyone interested needs to do is send an SMS with the word "Libro" (at the cost of a normal message) to the number 340 4399 018. The personal data of subscribers will only be stored for the duration of the event, and in any case people can always cancel their subscription by sending an SMS to the same number with the text "Libro OFF".