Mobile Telep Connected Lif (original) (raw)

2002

The tradeoffs we once worried about pale in comparison to the ones in the newscasts as events unfolded. Where popular articles once lamented the public impropriety of mobile telephony and its role in hastening life’s already fast pace, we instead heard accounts of calls from frightened passengers on hijacked airliners and doomed office workers in the World Trade Center towers and Pentagon to parents, spouses, and friends. But knowledge of the comforting receipt of those final “I love yous” and the hope that came with apparent calls from the rubble of the buildings must be reconciled with the sad awareness that the same technology had also helped the terrorists communicate and coordinate their efforts. These accounts of the extremes of the use of mobile telephony are now part of the public consciousness; as a result, I expect the divide between the attitudes of users and nonusers to narrow. While everyday struggles to define and adhere to social norms, or socially accepted behavioral...

Ling, R., & Typhina, E. (2016). Mobile communication. In: A. de Souza e Silva (Ed.), Debates on Mobile Communication. New York: Routledge.

In this chapter, Rich Ling examines the social structuring of mobile communication into the flux of everyday life. Mobile telephony is compared to other social mediation technologies, most specifically mechanical timekeeping that has many of the same characteristics. He notes that there is a critical mass of users who have reciprocal expectations with regards the use of the technology. The social role of mobile communication is also explored vis-a-vis power relations, its use in emergency situations, the negative dimensions of mobile telephony, and its future developments. Ling starts with a brief history of the mobile phone. He explains how the iPhone and the development of 3G networks shifted mobile communication and social interactions from one-to-one communication on feature phones, to quasi-broadcasting, crowdsourcing, and location-based activities on smartphones. He then describes how mobile phones are so engrained in daily life that they are now taken for granted. Ling concludes by explaining how the assimilation of the mobile phone into social structures and its use for social coordination is similar to that of mechanical time keeping and the automobile. The question and answer portion of this chapter examines three topics: the development of the field of mobile communication, the ways in which mobile phones mediate social interactions, and the future of mobile phone use. The discussions about the field of mobile communication reveal how it has been established through conferences and peer reviewed journals, as well as data collection methods like big data, focus groups, and surveys of mobile users. The discussions surrounding mobile phones and social mediation address what it means for mobiles to mediate relationships and how this mediation impacts power structures within society. Finally, the discussions on the future of mobiles include the mobile internet, wearable devices, and implanted technologies. In the conclusion, I extend these discussions and describe additional theoretical frameworks, methods, and emerging areas of research within mobile communication. The theoretical frameworks I present suggest several lenses for interpreting patterns of mobile phone use, while the methodological tools I describe show diverse techniques for collecting data on mobile devices. I also describe an analytical method that allows scholars to identify the uniquely mobile aspects of mobile communication. Finally, I suggest several trends for further exploration in mobile communication that employ the frameworks and methods described.

Mobile telephones and the disturbance of the public sphere

2008

The use of the mobile telephone in the public sphere is a common occurrence. We are growing more accustom to other's use of the device and many of us use it ourselves. It is common to see people talking on their cell phones on street corners, in airports and restaurants and in virtually all other public spaces. The social achievement of this has not come without comment. Indeed, it has been the focus of intense discussions and various types of moral arguments.

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Ethnography of the telephone

Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Human Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services, 2011