While the use of the Internet presupposes the literacy of the user, more significantly their knowledge of English, mobile phone technology in India has a greater mass appeal due to its lack of onus on the user’s literacy. Another principal reason for the popularity of the mobile phone is the nominal investment involved in procuring and maintaining a connection. With private mobile phone services competing for visibility, there are lucrative offers and dirt-cheap call tariffs that make mobile phone use more feasible to the customer than the Internet.
With regard to the issue of accessibility, the mobile phone wins over the Internet hands down. While the mobile phone ensures connectivity at the press of a button, Internet requires the computer to be switched on, the connection to be established, a website to be accessed before you can share information. Increasingly today, parents are equipping children and youngsters with mobile phones in order to reach them at all times and to ensure their safety. It is noteworthy here that the older generation has taken to the mobile phone technology much better than the Internet because of its simplicity. While the Internet requires one to know the basics of computer usage, mobile phones present fewer complications.
This discussion is incomplete without considering the “mobile” nature of the mobile phone. The possibility of using a mobile phone at anytime, anywhere helps the user in multi-tasking making him/her more efficient. The Internet on the other hand, requires you to be stationary; unless you access it on your mobile phone which is not viable in India given the popularity of the basic phone sets.
Neither the mobile phone nor the Internet means much to me. I feel liberated and unrestricted the day I forget to carry my mobile phone. The thought that I cannot be reached by anybody unless I choose to contact them thrills me. Be it in class, at the movies, lunch or while hanging out with friends there is always a mobile phone going off which is an annoying distraction. I do not answer calls unless I am absolutely free to talk and in that sense, it is also an encroachment on one’s privacy because people assume that it is acceptable to text and call you at any time of the day or night.
I did not own a personal computer while growing up and during a brief period in high school when I did have Internet access at home, the dial-up connection was way too slow, erratic, laborious and expensive to use extensively. This also makes it possible for me to function effectively without the Internet unlike a lot of friends who feel maimed when unable to access the Internet.
Mostly, my use of the mobile phone is restricted to receiving calls. I dislike having long conversations over the phone and therefore one facility that I use extensively is the short message service (SMS). Alarm, FM radio, calendar and clock are the other services that I use on the mobile phone. The one facility that I use most frequently and that provides me with the most satisfaction is my use of the outbox as a journal. I type out random experiences, emotions, mundane observations etc. and save them as drafts in my outbox so much so that it functions as a “mobile” chronicle.
True to my non-Internet-friendly, non-tech-savvy self, I am proud to proclaim that I would be ecstatic if mobile phone and Internet access were to be taken away from me. It would free me of the obligation of replying to SMSes, mails and updating my Orkut profile, of not answering calls and the like.
8 comments:
Anjana,
I've seen some similar observations made about the nature of cell phones in Africa - i.e. they are popular because of the portability, more reliable (cell phone towers versus intermittent electricity) and it's not necessary to be literate. One nifty article pointed out how the !Kung San (Bushmen of the Kalihari) were able to use PDAs with icons to help track wildlife (for conservation) digitally.
But I agree with you - I often feel a bit more "free" when I'm unconnected. Perhaps that will be the effect of new media on the tourism and vacation industry - a need to emphasize a disconnect from the always connected world.
I think I am the opposite. I feel out of touch when I don't have my cell phone. I was without it for a day last fall and felt disconnected from everyone (probably because I was). It is the only thing I have to communicate with my family and friends (well, I have a computer but using the cell phone is less of a hassle). I like to use the features that come with the phone as well. I use the alarm clock every morning, the calculator function when I need to figure out percentages, the calender, etc. I like the idea that you use the outbox as a "mobile chronicle". I think that's a fascinating idea.
When comparing Internet access to cell phones I agree that cell phones are easier to use than the computer. There is a process you have to go through before you can access e-mail or IM. With cell phones the connection is almost instantanious. All you have to do is have the phone on and place the call. And, like you mentioned, you don't need to be literate to use a cell phone.
"Neither the mobile phone nor the Internet means much to me. I feel liberated and unrestricted the day I forget to carry my mobile phone. The thought that I cannot be reached by anybody unless I choose to contact them thrills me. Be it in class, at the movies, lunch or while hanging out with friends there is always a mobile phone going off which is an annoying distraction. I do not answer calls unless I am absolutely free to talk and in that sense, it is also an encroachment on one’s privacy because people assume that it is acceptable to text and call you at any time of the day or night."
Anjana, it is quite refreshing to hear someone talk about the Internet and mobile phones, in which you have. I am sort of the same, I tend to think of the days when we didn't carry our cell phones EVERYWHERE. I am also big on cell phone etiquette, I cannot stand the noisy ringers that seems to invade EVERYONES privacy at seemingly the wrong times. There are people around the university who are ALWAYS connected to their cell phone. American culture is so attached to their use of cell phones it has become a danger of sort (automobile accidents while talking on the cell phone), even places like California have implemented "Cell Phone Stops" along highways and citations (http://safety.blr.com/display.cfm/id/101975) for driving and talking on your cell phone at the same time. You bring up great points about the use of cell phones and it's tendency to annoy.
We keep moving towards a "faster is better" mentality in the United States. Unfortunately, I think this feeds an aura of instant gratification and selfishness that pervades much of society. It's the idea that I deserve something now for just being me because I'm me!
According to psychologists, narcissism and entitlement issues are the top psychological disorders of the day. Much of American society is built around it - fast food, advertising, welfare, etc. It is good to excommunicate ourselves from time to time so we don't become so infiltrated by these messages. Go camping or something!
What is funny to me is that cell phones are just walkie-talkies but put in a more familiar, mainstream form.
I agree with you on the superiority of the mobile phone over the computer. Mobile phones are cheaper, easier to use, and more mobile than even a laptop computer. While cell phones can be annoying, I think the benefits certainly outweigh the drawbacks. Instant access to information is the greatest boon to mankind since fire. Mobile blogging, citizen journalism, and certain kinds of "netwar" are utilizing technology to create a freer more informed global society. Netwar has enabled people to successfully organize and protest many things. I highly recommend reading the following, Rheingold, Howard, "Smart Mobs: The Power of the Mobile Many (Chapter 7)," in Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution, 2002.
Would you believe that I too did not have a computer or internet access at my home for many years. I was 16 before I had a computer in my home and I worked all summer long to pay for a computer that I built myself. When we finally did get the Internet in my home it was a dial-up connection that only ran at 33.2 kps. I am addicted to knowledge and information so the mobile Web is very exciting to me. I look forward to getting a web enabled phone this summer so that I can have instant access to Wikipedia and other information. The global economy is moving towards a future with information as the pinnacle of the economy. I can't imagine not wanting to be a part of this new and exciting frontier. An informed global citizenry armed with the tools for instant communication and access to unlimited amounts of information can certainly not be considered to be too bad of a development.
I'm with Scott on this one too. While I probably wouldn't function very well without my cell phone, I didn't even have one until my first year of undergrad in, well...let's not go there. I won't talk on it on the bus going to and from school because I don't want to hear other people's conversations and I don't want them to hear mine. It's annoying and distracting.
Regarding the Internet though, I prefer my laptop over my cell phone any day. I am more of a visual and graphics person so I think that has something to do with it, but I can also accomplish a lot more of the social networking on my computer than I can talking and texting on my phone. I also like the ability to "get out of it" at any point or be "offline".
When I was working in New York for an advertising research firm, they gave me a Blackberry and I kept conveniently "losing" it. They kept replacing it. But my point is that, I wanted to be "off duty" when I wanted personal time and giving me the Crackberry gave them the expectation that I should be responsive 24 hours a day and work cannot take over your life like that. You have to find a balance and a place for the technology in your life but never forget about personal connections, proper manners, and most of all - the old school ways of doing things. Or else - you are missing out on a lot of great things in life and not using some solid basic communication skills.
I agree it is nice to be liberated from cell phones and computers, but overall, I like have the technology. I didn't grow up with a computer in my home either until I was 17. But like Cooper said, I was addicted to knowledge and wanted to search everything. I still feel the same way. I'm a self-professed technology geek and could not live without my phone or Internet. However, I think it is about drawing a line. Sometimes you have disconnect, even if it for a little while. I do not like the corporate world mentality of Blackberry, though. Work has to end at some point and honestly no one gets paid enough to be on call every second of everyday.
Hi Anjana _ I loved reading your blog. Seem like you have manged to avoid being a slave to the Internet and you seem to get a lot out of your phone. But I do have a quick question for you - there are plans to make cheap computers available worldwide (John Negroponte's One Lap Top Per Child) and Intel's Classmate). If you could have a laptop that is rugged and mobile and able to get Internet access anywhere anytime without much dependency on electricity. how would that change your views about the need for Internet access? Would you keep an online journal?!
Post a Comment