Attachment to Mobile Phones across Social Contexts

Abstract

This article presents a critical literature review of the major works on mobile phone culture, which examine the whys and wherefores of this technology's popularity in different socio-economic and cultural landscapes. Thus, it focuses particularly on how these multiplicities and varieties have been discussed, analyzed and researched in the existing mobile phone literature. There are different lines of research which can be categorized as following: the major works (mostly empirical studies whose findings are based on fieldwork) that demonstrate the mobile phone's use and instrumental value for people who are physically mobile and need instantaneous and spontaneous connections with others; the works that focus on the social promise of the mobile phone such as providing a means of social acceptance, through implying social status and particular lifestyles to polish one's face and gain recognition in social relations; and finally the studies that emphasize the sensing, affecting and affected, and fantasies of the body and the collective in contemplating the bond between body and mobile phone.