Abstract  This paper reports ethnographically informedobservations of the use of mobile phones andtext messaging services amongst young people.It offers a sociological explanation for thepopularity of text messaging and for thesharing of mobile phones between co-proximatepersons. Specifically, it reveals that youngpeople use mobile phone content and the phonesthemselves to participate in the practices ofgift exchange. By viewing mobile phone use inthis way, the paper suggests a number ofpossibilities for future phone-basedapplications and supporting hardware.