Although this article is now a year old, I find it extremely fascinating that mobile phone users in rural India are learning English language through mobile phones.

Hari Bhandari Bahadur (55), a guard in the St Xavier’s College, never got a chance to go to school. But after procuring a mobile phone in 2005, he has learnt to identify all English alphabets within a short time.

Now he identifies the ‘missed call’ given by his wife, as the mobile screen reflects ‘BB’. “I saved her number as capital letters ‘B’ written twice meaning ‘biwi’ (wife) so I understand that my wife is calling,” said Bahadur innocently.

Another such person is vegetable vendor Mohammad Shamim, who in between selling vegetables, has picked up words like “menu, call, reject, receive, silent, vibrate” in the past seven years of cellphone usage.

It would be interesting to know, if this trend is prevalent through out India or just limited to northern India. Also if it is happening across the world. Secondly, whether people who are learning English through mobile phone usage are using it in their daily life or limiting it to their interactions on mobile phone.

I found this article particularly interesting for the way Qiu & Thompson (2007) emphasize the need to study Asian mobile modernities. According to them, the emergence of mobile phones has led to formation of multiple modernities in Asia. Each of these modernities takes a different shape and character depending upon the social, cultural and institutional conditions in which they arise. The study of these modernities is very important to build grounded theory at the global level about historical continuity, cultural transformation and social change.

Based on the timing and extent of technological diffusion, Qiu and Thompson (2007), identify four groups of Asian countries on a spectrum. On one end, they put most-modern, advanced, and industrialized societies, such as Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, where mobile penetration has reached saturation. At the other end, are countries with limited mobile communication diffusion, such as Myanmar, Nepal and North Korea. And in between the two extremes, they situate countries such as India, Philippines and Bangladesh, where mobile technology has been deployed for variety of goals both social and commercial. For example, the GrameenPhone project which brought mobile phones to rural Bangladesh. The fourth group comprises of countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, characterized by market-driven mobile phone boom and traditional systems such as communism or Islam. In these countries, mobile phones exist as an icon of modernity and globalization and simultaneously becomes entangled with the most ‘traditional’ and local beliefs. For example, the identification of mobile phones with ghosts in Indonesia.

To understand the theoretical implications of “mobile modernities” in Asia, they say, one has to begin with the technology itself, that is the kind of mobile devices and services that are popular and examine the selection, diffusion and appropriation of mobile phones in these societies. Besides, the study of social, institutional and organization structures, the analysis of Asian mobile modernities should also include an understanding of internalized cultural processes which make the mobile phone experiences more meaningful in each of these contexts. They mention three articles - one, on the success of Little Smart in China (Qiu (2007)), second on the State, Power and mobile communications in China (Lu & Weber (2007)) and third, on the issues of cultural interpretation of mobile phones in Malaysia (Wilson & Thang, 2007) which show different perspectives through which mobile modernities can be examined. 

In my next post I will write about some of the examples of Asian mobile modernities which have been studied. If you are aware of any such mobile communities which are worth studying let me know.

In my earlier post, I had written about how new media technologies such as cell phones are involved in creation of new cultures. In this post, I explore how cultural values, in particular communication goals of a group shape the perceptions and uses of technology.

Culture and in particular communication goals and practices of a community may impact how technologies are viewed and perceived. In his article, Leonardi (2003) examined how cultural communicative practices affect the perceptions of cell phones, computers and internet among first generation, working class United States Latinos. He conducted 7 focus groups with an average of 11 participants in each group. The average age of participants was 34 and the average age of residency in the United States was 13 years.

His study revealed that United States Latinos perceived cell phones as connecting devices whereas computers and internet as isolating devices. He found that cell phones were viewed as technology that enhanced interpersonal communication with those near or far and allowed them to be in touch with their loved ones - anytime, anywhere. On the other hand, they thought of computers and internet as devices that enable people to access information and hence save time. Despite their usefulness, they commented that the excess use of computers and internet could isolate you from family. Whereas the only criticism they had for cell phone usage was its use by people in public places such as churches.

The fact that participants found it easier to use cell phones, unlike computers and internet because language was a barrier, meant that they fully understood the capabilities of technology and had positive perceptions of cell phones. Therefore, it may seem that cultural communication values shape how communication technologies are understood and used.  

Cell phones are fascinating to me. I still remember my first experience of buying a cell phone in 2003. I was in India. I was very clear about the kind of cell phone I wanted to buy. It had to be a Nokia and a slim phone. The design aspect of cell phone was very important to me, probably because of my aesthetic inclinations and the fashionable image that I wanted to project. 

When I came to the USA in 2004, I was still concerned by the fact that my cell phone should look stylish and must have all the latest features in it. It definitely had to be better than the one I had in India. However, in a couple of months my ideas about cell phone changed. While in USA, the most important aspect of having a cell phone was to be able to connect with my family in India.

It was this realization that cell phones are not only a communication device but also have a cultural dimension that made me want to investigate the various roles that cell phones play in our lives. I was interested in learning about how and why the meanings of cell phones change in our lives. Because while I was in India, it was the cultural aspect of cell phones, that is, its fashion potential was extremely important and when I came to USA, its ability to help me connect with my family became important. The changing context and circumstances had impacted my ideas about cell phones and its role in my life.  

Although communication is what cell phones are primarily designed for, the cultural or the fashion element associated with cell phones can’t be neglected.  

In his book, Cell Phone Culture, Gerard Goggin (2006) explains the importance of investigating the cultural dimension of cell phones. He explores the cultural dimension of cell phones through various standpoints - history, production, design, consumption, representation, and media convergence. He uses the example of cell phone manufacturers such as Nokia to illustrate how producers of cell phones have projected cell phones as an object of desire. He then discusses the text messaging culture, which he says is an example of how consumption of cell phones has led to emerging cultures. Thus cell phone culture, he concludes, is created by both its production as well as consumption.

Katz & Sugiyama (2005), on the other hand, explore cell phone culture to show that the fashionable image of cell phones is co-created by both the industry and the consumer.  According to them, the cell phone marketing and advertising has promoted the fashion element associated with mobile phones. Youth, modernism and futurism are recurrent themes in mobile phone advertising. Similarly, marketers have emphasized on stylish design, elite status and fashion aspect of mobile phones.

To understand whether the consumers perceive and use cell phones they conducted focus group interviews and surveys with college students in a US university. Their discussions with students led them to believe that a kind of “third-person effect” was operating. That is the students said that they themselves use cell phones as a necessity, but the others use it for its style dimension. Therefore, they noted that there is a similarity between the images of cell phone as promoted by the industry and as perceived by the young consumers. However, the cultural contexts have a significant impact on the cultural meaning of cell phones. Therefore, there may be a difference in the way a Chinese or Japanese may use the fashion potential of cell phone.   

Both these studies suggest that cell phone cultures are both actively produced and consumed. That there are several aspects of cell phone culture, for example, the fashion element associated with cell phones is both produced by the industry and perceived by the consumers. Whereas something like text messaging culture is more consumer driven. Further the cultural contexts in which cell phone cultures are produced and consumed cannot be neglected. (to be contd.)

Last year, I had gone to American University for a guest lecture on how to design a research project on mobile phones. I involved the students in a discussion on how do we view mobile phones other than just as a communication tool. As a result of our discussions, we identified several ways in which mobile phones are viewed:

1. Symbol of independence - The students said that with mobile phones you can personally choose whom you will communicate with and your calls are not screened by your parents, friends, or spouse.

2. Symbol of dependence - Because anyone can call you 24X7 and especially your parents can check on you anytime.

3. Status Symbol - It is a way to non-verbally brag about yourself. Depending on the style, color, cost and features of your cell phone, you can be seen as cool, geeky, wealthy, important, etc.

4. Fashion statement (accessories) - Most people wear their phone and the style, color, cost and features of a cell phone can enhance your look or, at least, contribute in some way to your appearance.

5. Safety features - People who carry cell phones have the added assurance that they can call police or anyone else when danger comes, if you’re lost or stranded. Children now give this reason for carrying cell phones to school.

6. Symbol of freedom - Some parents see the phones as a teethering device so they eliminate curfews.

7. Symbol of “trust” for some parents who shell out the funds to purchase phones and pay monthly fees for their children.

8. Gizmos that promote particular identities - “smart phone”, “razor”, “slider”, “envy”, “trio”, and “chocolate.”

All these above descriptions of mobile phones by the students suggest that the role of mobile phones in the life of young people is much more than it being a communication tool.

In her paper, Personal Portable Pedestrian: Lessons from Japanese Mobile Phone Use, Ito (2004), describes how mobile phone adoption and usage among the Japanese is embedded in a set of social – technical – cultural contexts. According to her, a “technosocial” framework provides a better approach to study technologies in society, because technologies and their usage patterns are determined by the technosocial ecologies in which they are evolving. Using the example of text messaging among young Japanese women, she explains, that the practice was not only adopted by the larger Japanese population, but also led to design innovations in technologies. Therefore, it was the social popularity of text messaging and the cultural value associated with it, which gave rise to the technical innovation. Further she explains, that the “urban ecologies” characterized by densely populated streets, public transportation and crowded living conditions have also resulted in people being more comfortable in exchanging messages rather than making voice calls.

I recently came across this article, which states that camera phone market is growing in India and youth is driving this growth. In my research on mobile phone usage among Indian youth, all the young people I interviewed, said that they would like to have a camera in their mobile phone. This may not really be an innovation in technology, but it certainly is an example of how the demand for camera phones is promoting the makers to add features and new capabilities to the mobile phones.

The above two examples of text messaging and the camera phones describe how the social and cultural value placed on social networking through text messages and owning a camera phone has led to evolution in technology within a particular context. I am interested in collecting any examples of such innovations in technologies particularly mobile phones which have grown out of the social and cultural value placed on it.

The saying “romance is in the air” appears to be true in modern times too. In today’s world, it is mobile phones which are carrying the messages of love. Although you may read numerous articles about how the way you smell, the color of your clothing and your confidence can make you look more attractive to your date. In India where dating is not a culturally acceptable phenomenon, people are using mobile phones to date and romance. Does it mean that how you look, smell and the way you carry yourself has no relevance in India between the dating couple? I am not sure. But it is true that Indians are using mobile phones to get to know their partners before marriage even if the match is arranged. In her study Carolyn Wei, found several instances where young Indians living in Bangalore were using mobile phones to maintain personal and romantic relationships. The study supports the evidence that mobile phones are being used for dating, however, the extent to which they are impacting or changing cultural values about dating and romance is still not known. The question still remains, whether dating before marriage is now acceptable in India or is it happening because mobile phones provide a convenient way?