The Role of Cell Phones In Shaping the New Society

With the convergence of entertainment and telecommunications the cell phone has transformed from an expensive item used by businessman and elites, to a personal communication tool for consumers. This has provided the average consumer of wireless technology the ability to use not only the function of a telephone but other accessories such as text messaging, email, internet access as well as camera and video technology. Wireless companies compete for their customers by introducing more technologically advanced mobile phones, like the iPhone, and use contracts that legitimize customers to their cellular networks. The competition for cellular customers is a billion dollar industry that especially in Canada, consists of one or two monopolies that control all of the telecommunications industry. This creates a high amount of competition between distributers, fighting for their consumers by offering newer phones, with more applications, at a reasonable price. Therefore, as the technological advancements become greater, individual’s can access unlimited amounts of information and communication at a fairly low price. The endless amounts of information that cell phone technology provides us today has created a different type of society than ever before. Castells refers to this new society as a “network society” because the role of information technology, like the cell phone, has changed the way in which people access information and entertainment in everyday life. The cell phone allows for the shaping of this new society because it produces an innovative way for people to produce information. The ability for people to access information on a cell phone at any occasion, has allowed for the redefinition of time and space. Castells summarizes this idea in one of his 9 hypothesis of the information society. The “network society” that I believe is present today, has created a new world for consumers, and has redefined cell phones as agents in the production of information and entertainment, rather than solely as communicative tools for human interaction.

The Cellular World

When I take a look at my own experiences, throughout my lifetime of evolving into a true cell phone consumer, I know that my reliance on portable media was, and still is, vast. I think of my cell phone as an extension of myself. Everywhere I go and everything I do my cell phone is involved. From the alarm that wakes me up each morning, to the texting and phone calls that go on throughout the day, my cell phone provides me with everything that I need to stay connected in the world today. People, like me, grow to rely on cell phones in order to maintain the lifestyle that technology has created. This lifestyle has dramatically changed the way that individuals stay in connection with the people and world around them. Rather than relying on person to person conversation to engage in human relationships, technology creates this "virtual" reality that allows the maintenance of human relationships without human physical contact. This phenomena known as the "virtual" world can be applied to many different means of communication in the present day, not just portable media but in other aspects of information technology. Though cellular phones are one technology that is continuously advancing and people are always adapting. Individuals in society have become so immune to the benefits that technologies, like the cell phone, provide us. This has created a world for people like never before. We, as human beings can now achieve and take on so much more in our everyday lives with the use of portable media technology, and most importantly the cell phone.

Portable Media in Everyday Life

I can remember back in high school when iPods had just been released and almost everyone had one and would listen to it non-stop. Whether it was walking down the hallways, eating lunch or sitting in class, the iPod was a major trend in my years at high school. It was considered the "cool" thing to always have at least one headphone of your iPod in your ear at all times. When I look back at my high school experience, I can clearly remember using my iPod to engage in my own world whenever I came across something that was of no interest to me. I would use my iPod as a way of indulging in my own reality and own thoughts. Till this day I still use my iPod for a number of different reasons and most of the time I don't even realise how much I rely on it. For example, whenever I go to the gym for a work out I always have to have my iPod with me, so I can keep my mind occupied. The other day I arrived at the gym and realised I didn't have my iPod, I tried to continue my workout but I only lasted 5 minutes without it. Initially I thought I would be able to finish my workout but until I actually started doing it without my iPod, I began to realise just how much I need and rely on it. I feel that portable media is a technology that people are constantly using in everyday life. For individuals this creates a sort of reliance on portable media devices because people begin to integrate them into their daily routines. Is it a good idea for people to rely on their portable media devices to get through the day? Is a cell phone or iPod really going to make the difference between a good day and a bad day? I believe yes, there are so many useful technologies that cell phones and iPods can provide us, that it would just be inefficient of us not to use these inventions to our advantage. Especially in the crazy world that we live in today, there are so many things going on at once and without the technology of a cell phone and other portable media devices, certain aspects of our lives would become complicated and disorganised.

Introduction

Hello Fellow Classmates,

My name is Paige Bohn and I currently live in Deep Cove, North Vancouver. I have been attending Capilano University for three years and this is my second year in the Communications Program. I chose to take Communications 253 because it is a course that is required by the Communications Diploma Program and I plan to receive my degree in Communications. I hope that by the end of this course I will obtain valuable experience and knowledge on becoming a worthwhile blogger. The social software that I have decided to examine in my blog is portable media, and more specifically the cell phone and ipod. I find portable media an interesting area for observation because with the emergence of digital media and devices such as the ipod and iphone, people all around the world are engaging in facebook, email, music, videos, photos, text messaging and phone calls, using a single device with the touch of a fingure.The technological growth that has occured just throughout my lifetime so far is astonishing to me. It feels like it was only a short time ago when everyone was using discman to listen to their favourite cds and the mp3 player and flip phone were just being released to the public. Tachnology has come so far from then in such a short period of time and people like me are the generation experiencing this technological change. I find it very interesting to take a step back and think about how far technology has actually come and what life would be like without ipods and blackberries at our conveience. I hope that in my blog I can further discuss the prevelence of portable media in society today and the implications it has on people in aspects of everyday life.

Greetings!

Hello everyone and welcome to my 1st ever blog!