Full length article Mobile communication as invader in face-to-face interactions: An analysis of predictors for parallel communication habits Bernadette Kneidinger-Müller University of Bamberg, Feldkirchenstrasse 21/1.03, 96052, Bamberg, Germany article info Article history: Received 17 May 2016 Received in revised form 21 March 2017 Accepted 26 March 2017 Available online 29 March 2017 Keywords: Mobile communication Availability Apparatgeist Cross talk Caller hegemony Multiple logistic regression abstract Mobile phone use has increased dramatically, and many users carry their phones 24 h a day. Conse- quently, mobile communication increasingly invades face-to-face interactions. In this paper, the researcher analyzes individual, social, and situational factors that predict such parallel communication habits. To this end, 339 smartphone users in Germany were asked about their smartphone usage habits, their availability management, and their parallel communication experiences. Subsequently, a multiple logistic regression was calculated to test which of the identified factors form predictors of a disposition to parallel communication. The findings confirm the assumption of significant influence from age, social usage motivation, usage habits of the peer group, individual evaluation of parallel communication, and expectations about the availability of others. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Mobile phones and smartphones have become an important part of everyday life. They have fundamentally changed the way individuals live together. Mobile communication devices are an everyday companion, not to say an invader, in many social contexts. As Katz and Aakhus (2002) summarized in their early work on mobile phones, ‘Whenever the mobile phone chirps, it alters the traditional nature of public space and the traditional dynamics of private relationships’ (p. 301). Following the theoretical concept of the apparatgeist introduced by Katz and Aakhus (2002), the researcher aims to analyze the mutual influences on mobile communication habits and face-to-face interactions. Especially the frequent observable practice of parallel communication, which describes the usage of mobile devices for communication purposes during ongoing face-to-face interactions, requires detailed examination. Researchers have investigated how people are dealing with mobile availability, and some projects addressed the question of how mobile devices influence face-to-face interactions. However, most of these studies (including the studies discussed by Katz & Aakhus, 2002) focused on the invasion of telephone calls in interpersonal conversations; few also considered text-based forms of parallel communication (Jin & Park, 2012; Kasesniemi & Rautiainen, 2002). Other studies discuss a parallelization of pri- vate and public communication. Most of these studies focused on situations where the mobile phone is used to talk about private issues with physically absent people in public. The concept of parallel communication even goes a step further. It does not only stands for private communication in public conducted via mobile phones, but describes the phenomenon of mobile mediated communication with absent people that interrupts ongoing face- to-face conversations with physically present interaction part- ners. Hardly any studies have explored individual, social, and situational factors that form predictors of such parallel communi- cation habits. This paper extends the research focus by analyzing the usage of Internet-connected smartphones that multiply the number of communication channels and interaction modes that can be used on a mobile device. With this extension and a focus on predictors for parallel communication, the researcher aims to contribute to closing the research gap described. The paragraphs that follow describe the theoretical framework of the study, which includes the apparatgeist concept (Katz & Aakhus, 2002), Goffman’s (1963) theory of cross talk, and Hopper’s (1992) concept of caller hegemony. Additionally, the state of research about mobile availability management, parallel communication, and social norms and expectations regarding the E-mail address: bernadette.kneidinger@uni-bamberg.de. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.03.055 0747-5632/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Computers in Human Behavior 73 (2017) 328e335