Mobile phones in children's after-school centres: stretching of place and control

This article discusses the influence of virtual mobility on place. It examines the use of mobile phones in an after-school centre in Helsinki, Finland and the role of mobile phones in negotiations on space, control and boundaries. It investigates the function of the mobile phone in the coordination of children's mobility in and out of the centre. It shows how the children make use of the capacity of mobile phones to connect to people and places physically separate for mobilising parental support by phone and use it as a resource in resolving conflicts in the centre. It shows how the different uses of the mobile phone grow into negotiations on the boundaries and space of the centre and cause tensions regarding the identities of the place.