Perpetual Contact of Mobile Communication - Assignment Example

Perpetual contact: mobile communication (1) What exactly is perpetual contact? Lets us learn more about that new phenomenon---Pg2 (2) The question is WHY such a craze and dependence on mobile technology? --------------Pg3 (3) Mobile communication in the workplace-------------------------------------------------------Pg4 (4) To what extent has perpetual communication altered our way of living? -----------------Pg5 (5) Overall advantages and disadvantages of mobile communication--------------------------Pg6 (6) Case study and discussion----------------------------------------------------------------------Pg7-11 (7) Future of mobile communication-----------------------------------------------------------Pg12-15 (8) Conclusion-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pg16 (9) Bibliography---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pg17 4/21/2008 University? User name? What exactly is perpetual contact? Lets us learn more about that new phenomenon. Perpetual contact refers to the fact of being constantly in touch with outside world and it encloses Mobile Communication, Private Talk, and Public Performance. There are different ways for remaining in perpetual contact with people: namely via the internet, through direct communication, by means of analogue telephone or more recently through digitalized mobile phones. For our concern, we are going to concentrate on mobile communication in this abstract. Mobile phones basically make use of a wireless technology that facilitates transfer of data between different handsets around the globe. The data transferred may be in form of voice or text messages referred to as SMS (Short Message Service). The impact mobile communication has on our life would have been unbelievable some decades ago. Moreover mobile communication is progressing at a speed that is rapidly extending the range of possibilities that can be achieved through mobile technology. Introduced in the year 1983, the modern mobile phone has changed inter-personal relationships, social and business activities to an enormous extent. We all need to acknowledge that mobile phones play an integral part in business, and we regard the technology as an important business tool as the latest technology advances are further orientated to provide business solutions. One such example is the Black-berry. The question is WHY such a craze and dependence on mobile technology? Dependence on constant communication has taken roots some 10 years ago when it was considered a luxury to possess a mobile phone. However this is not the case anymore as perpetual communication is no longer an extravagance but a must; most people around the world have a mobile handset to connect them continuously to other persons. In fact this new style defines our standard of life and has been set by the convergence culture we live in; more specifically perpetual communication is set forth due to the introduction of interesting features as the 3G, internet, MP3 and high definition camera on mobile phones. Besides, this trend is more popular with the younger generation. Young people use their mobile phones for making calls, sending emails, taking photographs and downloading games and ringtones. Most importantly, mobile phone handsets are becoming an identity statement for many of these young users of mobiles. They glamorously use their mobile phone handsets to show certain aspects of their personality to the outside world. These people remain in perpetual contact with their peers and cannot do without remaining in communication. One more important aspect of mobile communication is its use in the working sphere where it is a tool for business. Mobile communication in the workplace. Mobile communication has taken amplitude in every aspect of our life; it has now infiltrated even in workplaces which were long ago supposed to be a place governed by a formal working atmosphere. However this is not the case anymore as mobile phones have been allowed in many places of work. Using mobile phones and e-mail technology has in many ways made life easier for workers and researchers given that they make the transfer of data and information to colleagues so much easier and faster. Nevertheless this is not the sole opinion of millions of people and the controversy surrounding the topic is amazing. New technologies such as e-mail, mobile phones and instant messaging not only make workers easy get in touch with and instantaneously contactable, but are also making them stressed, angry and distracted according to new research from the University of Surrey. The problem arises when work is being all the time interrupted by calls and texts, or when workers are unable to contact clients, colleagues or suppliers as quickly as expected, stress and anger levels go up and is detrimental for the smooth running of the job. Apart from being stressful for the mobile user, irritation may be passed on to colleagues as in the middle of a meeting a responsible person must not answer his mobile phone or even disrupts a busy office by impossible-to-ignore ringtones. This is why various companies are considering adopting policies to govern their use in the office. To what extent has perpetual communication altered our way of living? It is practically unimaginable that in Finland there are more mobile phones per capita than anywhere else in the world(Puro,2002) Such degree of perpetual contact may be the result of low prices of telecommunication services but may unfortunately lead to the death of traditional and social interaction. In relation to the ways of life the mobile phone has contributed a lot to the reorganisation of work and leisure as the mobile phone now expresses all-reaching global connections. Daily life is now in rhythm with both working hours and leisure time. Mobile phones have accelerated our experience of freedom, but at the same time the resulting perpetual communication enslaves and ties one up. Dependency is shown by the way one is constantly attached with the device. Moreover the summons of the boss can now be heard from very far and outside fixed times. This can give rise to a kind of forced accessibility as employees are potentially under continuous control and discipline based on time is replaced by continuous and forced accessibility. The use of the mobile phone implies a privatisation of the public space as the user separates him from the surrounding space in a bubble that is necessary for the private speech imposed by the mobile communication. Moreover the perpetual contact also lead to private matters being publicised by the rapid propagation of news via mobile technology. Overall advantages and disadvantages of mobile communication: Apart from accelerating the pace of life, mobile communication also offers increased flexibility in both the professional arena and in personal relationship. For instance busy professionals who get back home late may spend some time talking to family members during the few spare minutes during office breaks. It is also a bonus for those who feel they are not accomplishing enough useful work when they are waiting in a shopping or bank queue. Those people can use this otherwise wasted time to establish a mobile communication and hence gain time and strengthen certain relationships or collect data for pending work. However those who love their moments to peace and tranquillity may find themselves disturbed as they are perpetually available and may be given office work to do even when they are not in official office hours. Shockingly, people nowadays have to respond to colleagues’ enquiries even when flying in a plane. Moreover, mobile communication is also blamed for being an obstruction against having an ideal, open and transparent communication. According to different studies, many people believe that a person is an awful communicator when prevented from having a clear, direct communication. Case study 1: When you walk through the doors of St. Peter’s Basilica these days, you might just catch the glow of a laptop or wireless PDA through the smoky haze of burning incense. The distant hum of Gregorian chants may even be interrupted by the bleep of a mobile phone or the ping of a text message. Vatican City joined the tech revolution in Christmas 1995, when Pope John Paul 2 launched the Vatican’s Web site (Vatican.ca) with the text of his annual Urbi and Orbi address. Now it’s taking advantage of wireless technology to spread the Word even farther. “When we came up with the idea that the Vatican goes online, the Holy Father said: yes, ‘try it right away”, says Sister Judith Zoebelein, the technical director of the Vatican internet office. “But we had no idea how popular it would be.” The Vatican website, which is published in six languages, receives more than 2 million daily hits. Spurred by this success, the Roman Catholic Church is engaging in bolder experiments. Last year the Vatican News Service began delivering announcements to journalists on their BlackBerry wireless PDAs, in October it made the service available by subscription to anybody. Prior to that the Church also began issuing a daily papal prayer in the form of a cell-phone text message; it now has more than a million subscribers. The Vatican hopes eventually to reach the millions of faithful in the developing world, who lack broadband internet access or even reliable telephones. Its programmers are hard at work on a new version of the Web site that can fit the tiny screen of PDAs. “Mass media can be a good means of evangelism,”says Sister Judith. In the next few months, Wi-Fi hotspots will be popping up all over St.Peter’s Square and inside the church. By Easter, tourists with wireless laptops or PDAs may be able to download information about the architectural history of Bernini’s columns or the significance of Michelangelo’s Pietàin electronic form, to serve as e-book pocket guides. Sister Judith would love to see the church offer wireless e-learning of catechism or even marriage-preparation classes: “Technology, as it is made newly available, we believe becomes integrated in our environment under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.” For the Vatican, the medium is indeed the message. Case study 2: The Big Apple now blasts Internet connectivity into the air along with taxi exhaust, the smell of honeyed peanuts from sidewalk vendors and the blare of honking horns. Some of it is official: traffic police in the borough of Queens ticket cars with handheld bar-code scanners from Symbol Technologies. Carried by cops, the scanners are linked via Wi-Fi to portable printers and also transmit the tickets back to central computers. The city says it's saving millions a year with just 1,000 of the $2,100 devices by reducing errors, and it will order 500 more this year. Police Sgt. John Baldock had spent many evenings staking out the door-way of the family-run Italian eatery Rosticceria Rusticana, where drug dealers plied their trade away from the surveillance cameras that dot London's trendy-cum-seedy Soho neighbourhood. His big break came when Westminster's nerdy information-network manager, Andrew Snellgrove, stuck a tiny wireless camera in a lamppost across the street. A week later, Baldock had all the evidence he needed to arrest several dealers. Police are about to turn Soho into the first wireless law-enforcement district. In the next six months, Snellgrove will install 50 wireless cameras and sensors around the neighbourhood. They'll take real-time videos good enough to be admissible in court, and sensors will monitor unusual noises. Because the cameras won't be fixed, police will be able to move them constantly, creating the impression of total surveillance. Crooks, beware. Case study 3: Lee Hye Ryung's life revolves around the wireless Internet. During her 45-minute morning subway commute to school, the graduate student at Yonsei University in Seoul chats with her friends or plays online games through her PDA phone. She brings her laptop to every class and takes notes, searches the Internet and makes presentations with it--using Wi-Fi hotspots sprinkled around campus. The computer even comes with her on geology field trips to the remote countryside. "I have access to the Internet almost any time, anywhere," she says. "I feel insecure when I am not connected." Lee isn't the only Seoul resident who's always online. The South Korean capital has the most extensive wireless-broadband network in the world, with more than 400,000 Wi-Fi subscribers. Wi-Fi is available in airports, hotels, government offices, libraries, banks and fast-food restaurants. Korea Telecom started its mobile-broadband service two years ago. Its latest offering, Nespot Swing, combines conventional mobile-phone service with mobile-broadband Internet. A $500 PDA phone built especially for the service puts a 5-megabits-per-second Wi-Fi connection at your disposal. With its built-in camcorder, you can also take still or video pictures and upload them immediately to your blog. KT plans to raise the number of Wi-Fi hotspots from 13,000 to 23,000 in South Korea, with nearly half of them in the capital. "In major areas of Seoul, mobile Internet zones will be within three minutes' walk from any place," says KT vice president Hahn Won Sic. If Wi-Fi technology is ever going to catch on to the extent that mobile phones have, though, service providers will need to find a way to appeal to adults--most users are students, who can't afford to pay much for the service. Or they can wait: the kids at Yonsei University are not getting any younger. Discussion: It is indeed verily true when James E. Katz from the Centre for Mobile Communication Studies, Rutgers University, says that: “mobile technology allows unprecedented permutations and interconnection of innovations in communication at the levels of place and space, individual, group and mass, and creative new services offered from a range of entities from amateur creators to gigantic corporations. This is clearly shown by the fact that even religious bodies have not been spared by perpetual communication. The first study above also confirms that technology has infiltrated in our life and soul since nowadays even our faith is being propagated via this very same technology. Perpetual contact has changed our way of life; people need not go to the Church regularly today as we receive the papal prayer daily via our mobile handsets by text messages. This facilitates our lives and makes us feel closer to God and The Message and it is indeed a boon for busy people and for those who like to get bonus guidance every now and then. Nowadays we value mobile communication to such an extent that life seems impossible without it, people cannot visualise a modern and civilised life without perpetual communication which has now become a highlight in the way we practice our faith. In the second case study, we can see that new technologies have caused a revolution even in our law section. Cops carry connected scanners which facilitate their task; in other places as London, wireless cameras are linked to a network that allows 24/7 communication. This sets an aura of constant surveillance and is a boon for the police who now can perform more efficiently since they are always in communication. However, our dependence on mobile communication and perpetual contact is more clearly depicted in the last case study where it is shown that people feel insecure when they are not connected. Perpetual contact helps us in doing our work, easily piling up data, taking notes, playing online games and chatting with friends. In brief, perpetual contact fills our life. FUTURE OF MOBILE COMMUNICATION: The future of mobile communication reveals to be a bright one since more and more people have a rather acute dependence on it. This is mainly due to the human innate desire to remain in communication to share views and opinions. However it is now globally accepted that the constant use of mobiles is also greatly influenced by the technological aspects and functions of the mobile handsets. The future is moreover assured by the upcoming of many new and appealing technological features. Some examples include: Nokia morph, use of mobile phones on aircraft and Google android phones. Let us discuss each of the above examples: Use of mobile phones on aircraft: Nowadays, time is very precious, and this is mostly felt by busy businessmen who are flying from one place to another. They are cut from communication with their colleagues and are hence prevented from exchanging data to allow rapid proceeding of any urgent work. In this way, money is also lost. This is the main reason why, the future has embraced the use of mobile phones even during a flight; perpetual communication will now be allowed on aircraft. Use of mobile phones on aircraft: The service will be activated at an altitude of 3000m or higher while those who wish to establish communication in the aircraft will do so at a more expensive rate as put forward by Viviane Reding, the EU telecoms commissioner. However, many people will disregard the cost at the expense of remaining in perpetual contact. Nokia morphs: Morph being the result of nanosciences reflects the future of mobile communication. In fact, Nokia is the number one mobile phone makers, supply one million mobile handsets around the world on a daily basis. The essence of Nokia is not about making calls but revolves principally about connecting lives. Hence the company is thinking about the fact that people nowadays want to remain in perpetual contact, be it on the internet or mobile phones. "We are already living in the converged world; the spearhead consumers, about 200m people, are using their devices to be present in the internet 24/7, using their handsets as multimedia computers", Anssi Vanjoki, executive vice president at Nokia, told BBC News. After investing in research centres around the world, Nokia is now concentrating on its technology which will beguile more and more persons to stay in perpetual contact. Google android phones: More competent than the iPhone and the blackberry will be the Google android phone. It is Linux-based operating software of future mobile phones and is most importantly freely available software which will probably be marketed at the end of 2008. Its browser will be as efficient as that of a desktop computer’s web browser and will also include GPS and VoIP. This multi-media device will have multiple functions and will doubtlessly revolutionise the concept of mobile communication. The above mentioned technologies of the future have already ensured a brilliant prospect for mobile communication. We must accept that the concept of perpetual contact is a rather new one and has a long path to go to reach the summit, while more and more persons are attracted to mobile communication by the introduction of extraordinary technology. Conclusion: As discussed above, perpetual contact is now an integral part of our life, it describes a standard of living for many persons and few are those who can do without a mobile handset. Mobile communication offers various benefits such as sending short messages, calling, internet and satellite connection which makes our lives more agreeable and furthermore allows perpetual contact. This constant availability offers advantages as well as drawbacks in the sense that a person’s private space is no more peaceful and personal. This may put many persons on nerves. However we must all agree that our mobile converged society will continue to promote the need for perpetual contact. This need for constant contact is moreover accentuated by the coming of technologies, one more interesting than the other. The future of mobile communication is a very promising one, but, in order to lead a natural, peaceful and all the time a connected life, one must know how to set equilibrium between perpetual contact and private time. BIBLIOGRAPHY Nadeau, Barbie. “Higher Calling.”Newsweek June 2004: 40-41. http://www.out-law.com/page-4598 http://www.springerlink.com/content/k33802886045671 Katz, E., James and Aakhaus, Mark. Perpetual contact. Cambridge: 2002. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139293/article.html Flynn, Emily. “Keeping watch.” Newsweek June 2004: 35 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7334372.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/technology/7266187.stm Lee, B.J. “Biggest network.” Newsweek June 2004:36 Read More

Besides, this trend is more popular with the younger generation. Young people use their mobile phones for making calls, sending emails, taking photographs and downloading games and ringtones. Most importantly, mobile phone handsets are becoming an identity statement for many of these young users of mobiles. They glamorously use their mobile phone handsets to show certain aspects of their personality to the outside world. These people remain in perpetual contact with their peers and cannot do without remaining in communication.

One more important aspect of mobile communication is its use in the working sphere where it is a tool for business. Mobile communication in the workplace. Mobile communication has taken amplitude in every aspect of our life; it has now infiltrated even in workplaces which were long ago supposed to be a place governed by a formal working atmosphere. However this is not the case anymore as mobile phones have been allowed in many places of work. Using mobile phones and e-mail technology has in many ways made life easier for workers and researchers given that they make the transfer of data and information to colleagues so much easier and faster.

Nevertheless this is not the sole opinion of millions of people and the controversy surrounding the topic is amazing. New technologies such as e-mail, mobile phones and instant messaging not only make workers easy get in touch with and instantaneously contactable, but are also making them stressed, angry and distracted according to new research from the University of Surrey. The problem arises when work is being all the time interrupted by calls and texts, or when workers are unable to contact clients, colleagues or suppliers as quickly as expected, stress and anger levels go up and is detrimental for the smooth running of the job.

Apart from being stressful for the mobile user, irritation may be passed on to colleagues as in the middle of a meeting a responsible person must not answer his mobile phone or even disrupts a busy office by impossible-to-ignore ringtones. This is why various companies are considering adopting policies to govern their use in the office. To what extent has perpetual communication altered our way of living? It is practically unimaginable that in Finland there are more mobile phones per capita than anywhere else in the world(Puro,2002) Such degree of perpetual contact may be the result of low prices of telecommunication services but may unfortunately lead to the death of traditional and social interaction.

In relation to the ways of life the mobile phone has contributed a lot to the reorganisation of work and leisure as the mobile phone now expresses all-reaching global connections. Daily life is now in rhythm with both working hours and leisure time. Mobile phones have accelerated our experience of freedom, but at the same time the resulting perpetual communication enslaves and ties one up. Dependency is shown by the way one is constantly attached with the device. Moreover the summons of the boss can now be heard from very far and outside fixed times.

This can give rise to a kind of forced accessibility as employees are potentially under continuous control and discipline based on time is replaced by continuous and forced accessibility. The use of the mobile phone implies a privatisation of the public space as the user separates him from the surrounding space in a bubble that is necessary for the private speech imposed by the mobile communication. Moreover the perpetual contact also lead to private matters being publicised by the rapid propagation of news via mobile technology.

Overall advantages and disadvantages of mobile communication: Apart from accelerating the pace of life, mobile communication also offers increased flexibility in both the professional arena and in personal relationship. For instance busy professionals who get back home late may spend some time talking to family members during the few spare minutes during office breaks.

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