The mobile connection : the cell phone's impact on society / Rich Ling.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ling, Richard Seyler.

Contributor:

George R. Fink Memorial Fund.

Series:

Morgan Kaufmann series in interactive technologies

The Morgan Kaufmann series in interactive technologies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cell phone systems--Social aspects.

Cell phone systems.

Physical Description:

xvii, 244 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

San Francisco, CA : Morgan Kaufmann, [2004]

Summary:

Has the cell phone forever changed the way people communicate? The mobile phone is used for "real time" coordination while on the run, adolescents use it to manage their freedom, and teens "text" to each other day and night. The mobile phone is more than a simple technical innovation or social fad, more than just an intrusion on polite society. This book, based on worldwide research involving tens of thousands of interviews and contextual observations, looks into the impact of the phone on our daily lives. The mobile phone has fundamentally affected our accessibility, safety and security, coordination of social and business activities, and use of public places.

Based on research conducted in dozens of countries, this insightful and entertaining book examines the once-unexpected interaction between humans and cell phones, and between humans, period. The compelling discussion and projections about the future of the telephone should give designers everywhere a more informed practice and process, and provide researchers with new ideas to last years.

Contents:

1. Introduction

The history of mobile telephony

The growth of the mobile market

Outline of the book

2. Making sense of mobile telephone adoption

The interaction between technology and society

Technical/social determinism and affordances

The domestication of Information and communication technologies (ICTs)

Methods and data sources

3. Safety and security

Introduction

The mobile telephone as a contribution to security

Use in situations where there is a chronic or an acute need for contact

Abstraction of security vis-à-vis mobile telephony

The mobile telephone in extraordinary situations

Diminution of safety

Driving and mobile telephone use

Personal privacy

Conclusion

4. The coordination of everyday life

Social coordination

Mechanical timekeeping and social coordination

The development of mechanical timekeeping

The standardization of time

The etiquette of time and timekeeping

Mobile communication and microcoordination

Midcourse adjustment

Iterative coordination

Softening of schedules

Time-based vs. mobile-based coordination

Advantages of mobile based coordination

Limitations

Competition or supplement

5. The mobile telephone and teens

Child/adolescent development and the adoption of telephony

Adolescence and emancipation in contemporary society

Elements in the adoption of mobile telephony by teens

Functional uses of the mobile telephone among adolescents

Symbolic meaning of the mobile telephone

Social networking via the mobile telephone

The monetary dimensions to teens' adoption of mobile telephony

Conclusion : mobile telephony and the dance of emancipation

6. The intrusive nature of mobile telephony

Mobile telephony in settings with heavy normative expectations

Mobile telephony in interpersonal situations

Initiation of the call and the production of social partitions

Management of the local situation during the call

Reemergence into the local setting

Forced eavesdropping and being embarrassed for others

7. Texting and the growth of asynchronous discourse

The growth of texting

Texting and the individual

Texting and the group

What is being said, who is saying it, and how do they say it

Content of the messages

Mechanics of SMS writing

Written vs. spoken language

Gendering of text messages

The future of texting

8. Conclusion : the consequences of Osborne's prognosis

Interaction between innovation and social institutions

History of technical innovation and social adoption

Sociology and the role of technical innovation

Social capital vs. individualism

Social capital

The institutionalization of individualization

The role of ICTs in the fostering of social capital/individualism

The Internet

The mobile telephone

Ad hoc networks

Virtual walled communities

Appendix. Data sources used in the analysis of mobile telephony.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-237) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George R. Fink Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

1558609369

OCLC:

54007171

Online:

Publisher description