Social aspect of mobile communication

Goggin highlights how the internet affects mobile communications and cultures, as the internet is made more accessible and available through wireless technologies. He states some technologies such as WiFi gives birth to ‘warchalking’, WAP and SMS blossoming into MMS offering user interaction in television and other industries. Furthermore he cites that in Australia alone 13.7 million MMS were exchanged between users in 2003-04. Another child of blogging is Moblogging, where videos filming real life capture good media attention (Goggin, 2006, pp. 273-275).

Wireless communicastions make and nurture new communities that are abysmally presented or misrepresented in the physical world. Further the internet is totally decentralized and not monopolized by commercial interest of a few (Goggin, 2006, p. 276). The internet gives a new dimension to communication and culture and does not cage it as done by traditional media (Print).

Culture and communication shape the technology as for example Gutenberg’s printing press and Sabeer Bhatia’s hotmail and now technology is shaping language as SMS and MMS are prevalent in Mobile fones against formal writing. This in my opinion is not language erosion but evolution (Birkerts 1994, p 128). The screen size in a mobile fone is very small compared to that of a desktop or Laptop. The context of mobile communication is different and people using the mobile fones are younger, who are very impatient because of ever increasing media pressure. Earlier in Victorian era English was spoken by Englishmen only and now half of the world speaks English (guess in postmodernism the sun refuses to set on the English language) [… civilizing energies of their prose will circulate aimlessly between closed covers] (Birkerts 1994, p 129). Shakespearean English may dilute and mix with Panglish (Punjabi + English), Chinglish (Chinese + English), Japlish (Japnese + English), Hinglish (Hindi + English), Binglish (Bengali + English) and several others. But this mixture occurs due to traveling demographics and policies of government. Also access to new technological and communication devices and with the blossoming of social networking sites and media sharing sites and blogs privacy has taken a hit [… slow but steady destruction of subjective space] (Birkerts 1994, p 130). But it depends on the individual what he wants to share with his folks in the physical world and with those on the online world (Yarmosh, 2007). But I feel individualism will never perish as “…There is no collectivism, it is always individualism…” (Gertrude Stein). As much of information is exchanged online “…concept of objective truth is fading out and lies pass into history” (George Orwell). May be historical facts get maligned with the advent of multiculturalism in postmodernism, as we access information but remain insensitive towards the chronology of events (Birkerts 1994, p 129). Our lives get so reliant on technology that we are unmindful of our roots.

Reference: -

Birkerts, S. 1994, `Into the Electronic Millennium`, (Chapter 8), in The Gutenberg Elegies, New York, Fawcett Columbine, pp. 117-133

Goggin, G. 2006, 'The Internet, online and mobile cultures', The Media and Communications in Australia, Allen & Unwin, Eds Stuart Cunningham and Graeme Turner, Australia, pp. 259-278, <http://drr.lib.uts.edu.au/file/14607/95567_goggininternet.pdf>

Yarmosh, K. 2007, ‘Virtual Reality and Virtual Goods - Boon or Bane?’, Society and Culture, viewed on 4 March, 2009, <http://www.technosight.com/virtual-reality-and-virtual-goods-boon-or-bane/>