Having studies on aspects of mobile phone use, such as the social impact on work/life balance, can take policy making from relying on anecdotal information to an evidence-based approach, leading to improved outcomes, AMTA told the Consumer Telecommunications Network (CTN) conference this week.

The CTN Conference, titled “Healthy Communities through better Communications”, was held in Sydney on Wednesday and focused on the role telecommunications could play in assisting the wellbeing of communities.

“Healthy communities and the well being of Australians – the theme of this year’s conference – is an opportunity for us to consider the role of mobile telecommunications in our community and its impacts on individuals and families at home and in the workplace,” an AMTA spokesman told the conference.

“By understanding the social impacts – as well as the economic aspects – we all can move from the anecdotal and doing what we think is right in an ad hoc fashion, to effective, informed, evidence-based policies that are based on consumer practices and needs, which, in turn, leads to improved policy outcomes.”

The AMTA spokesman went on to outline the key findings of the three-year partnership between AMTA and some of Australia’s leading social scientists from the Australian National University, the University of New England and the University of New South Wales.

The three-year project was awarded an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant to gain an evidence-based understanding of the social impact of mobile technologies on work/life balance.

It is the first study in Australia that was specifically designed to provide nationally representative data on how mobile phones have become integrated into the everyday lives of Australians.

The innovative project employed a purpose-designed questionnaire, a phone log and a time diary to produce direct information about how people use their mobiles to manage and co-ordinate their lives.

The survey used a nationally-representative sample of 2185 individuals.

Some of its key findings can be viewed here.