Mobile Communication and Society: A Global Perspective : a Project of the Annenberg Research Network on International CommunicationMIT Press, 2007 - 331 pages Wireless networks are the fastest growing communications technology in history. Are mobile phones expressions of identity, fashionable gadgets, tools for life--or all of the above? Mobile Communication and Societylooks at how the possibility of multimodal communication from anywhere to anywhere at any time affects everyday life at home, at work, and at school, and raises broader concerns about politics and culture both global and local. Drawing on data gathered from around the world, the authors explore who has access to wireless technology, and why, and analyze the patterns of social differentiation seen in unequal access. They explore the social effects of wireless communication--what it means for family life, for example, when everyone is constantly in touch, or for the idea of an office when workers can work anywhere. Is the technological ability to multitask further compressing time in our already hurried existence? The authors consider the rise of a mobile youth culture based on peer-to-peer networks, with its own language of texting, and its own values. They examine the phenomenon of flash mobs, and the possible political implications. And they look at the relationship between communication and development and the possibility that developing countries could "leapfrog" directly to wireless and satellite technology. This sweeping book--moving easily in its analysis from the United States to China, from Europe to Latin America and Africa--answers the key questions about our transformation into a mobile network society. |
Contents
Our Networks Our Lives | 1 |
The Diffusion of Wireless Communication in the World | 7 |
Age | 39 |
Copyright | |
10 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Mobile Communication and Society: a Global Perspective Manuel Castells,Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol,Jack Linchuan Qiu,Araba Sey No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
accessed June activities adoption areas autonomy become calls cell phones cell-phone cellular chapter China Cingular Wireless communica context cost developing countries diffusion of mobile emerging entertainment Estrada Europe example fixed lines fixed-line Fortunati gender Ghana global groups growth handsets i-mode important income individual interaction Internet Japan Latin America levels Ling Little Smart migrant workers million mobile communication technologies mobile devices mobile phone mobile technologies mobile telephony mobile youth culture mobile-phone munication network society nology Nosamo observed Oksman and Rautiainen operators pager patterns penetration rates percent Philippines political population practice protests Rautiainen 2002 region reported ring-tones Roh Moo-Hyun social South Korea Statistics subscribers subscriptions survey teenagers telecom telecommunications teledensity text messaging tion trend Uganda United usage UTStarcom Vodacom Wi-Fi wireless communication technology wireless Internet wireless technology women youth culture