若者はどのようにして恋愛関係を成立させるのか　―ケータイ・コミュニケーションに注目して―

抄録

  The purpose of this study is to clarify how young adults in Japan establish their romantic relationships with particular reference to mobile communications. It is said that as mobile phone use has spread among young adults, interpersonal relationships and communications have been transformed qualitatively. Moreover, the resulting decrease of interpersonal communication skills between young adults has been viewed as a problem. The increase in the number of young adults who are not dating and the reduction in the marriage rate in recent years have been attributed in part to the weakness of their “interpersonal communication skills” (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 2013). However, the “youth society” must have its own means to build relationships, therefore we should clarify in detail how they communicate with others and build romantic relationships.

  Qualitative research methodology was utilized in this study. The qualitative research data consisted of four discussion groups and four semi-structured interviews. Each group was divided by occupation (students or company employees) and gender, and the total number of participants in the discussion groups was 24 people, 14 of them female and 12 male. An interviewee was chosen from each group.

  The results of the analysis show that the communication by means of mobile phone (“ke-tai”) can be a device for measuring the distance between people. In addition, youths tend to be excessively concerned with interpersonal skills and the paradox of communication skill: the more effort that is put into developing better communication and paying attention to the attitudes and remarks of the interlocutor, the harder it is to build a romantic relationship.