Abstract This article contributes to the growing area of research appertaining to the use of mobile communication devices and the internet by children in care in order to maintain contact with family and friends. It is based on a triadic method of semi-structured interviews with 12 young people and their foster carers and social work practitioners. The study found that the young people were not passive recipients of their familial and friendship networks and did not deem their interactions as ‘contact’, perceiving them more as ‘staying in touch’. The opportunities provided for this by the new technology enabled immediacy, reach and communication in real time and duration – all features that allowed them to control the ‘who, how and when’ of their relationships. But despite the potential of the new communication methods to bring cohesion between young people and their relatives, it was not utilised or supported by their foster carers or social work practitioners who tended to view this new channel of communication as a risk or a nuisance.

中文翻译：

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二十一世纪的接触：看护青年使用移动通信设备和互联网

摘要 本文对越来越多的研究领域做出了贡献，该领域涉及儿童在看护中使用移动通信设备和互联网以保持与家人和朋友的联系。它基于对 12 名年轻人及其寄养者和社会工作从业者进行半结构化访谈的三元方法。研究发现，年轻人并不是家庭和友谊网络的被动接受者，也不将他们的互动视为“接触”，而是将他们视为“保持联系”。新技术为此提供的机会实现了即时性、影响力和实时和持续时间的沟通——所有这些功能都使他们能够控制他们的关系“谁、如何和何时”。