Mobile media beyond mobile phones

Abstract

In this introduction, we argue for an expanded focus in mobile media and communication studies (MMCS) that accounts for the many types of mobile media that affect our lives. We begin by pointing out that mobile phone/smartphone research has dominated MMCS as a field. That focus makes sense, but it runs the risk of MMCS essentially turning into “smartphone studies,” which we argue would limit our impact. To make that case, we identify a few examples of the types of oft-ignored technologies that could add to the depth and breadth of MMCS research (e.g., RFID [radio frequency identification] tags, the Walkman, barcodes). We then summarize the articles in this special issue to categorize the breadth of this research, which ranges from analyses of mobile fans to autonomous cars to mobile infrastructure.

The Phenomenon Of Mass Culture As Area Of Transmitting Cultural Codes

“…Mass culture through sacred images appeals to the "collective unconscious", which is the foundation for the formation of a generally significant cultural experience. The culture transmitted through the mass media (Frith & Özkul, 2019) demonstrates the manifestations of archetypics and archetypally determined sociocultural attitudes, given the fact that the mass is not immanent to human existence. The role of sacred codes in the works of mass culture is to translate the unconsciously conditioned attitudes of the human psyche in comfortable forms into social reality.…”

Games and Play in the Creative, Smart and Ecological City

“…As Frith and Özkul (2019) suggest, the study of mobile media has increasingly become smartphone studies, and we need to look beyond mobile media directly. These ideas are furthered by Horst, who suggests an emphasis on future mobile media studies, focusing on underlying infrastructures.…”

Looking back to look forward: 5G/COVID-19 conspiracies and the long history of infrastructural fears

“…While most mobile media and communication (MMC) research focuses more on uses of mobile media than the infrastructures that shape those uses, there is a growing tradition in the field that shows why mobile infrastructure cannot be separated from the practices it supports ( Frith & Özkul, 2019 ; Horst, 2013 ). As Ling and Donner put it, “It is the networks, not the handset, that allow us to connect” (Ling and Donner, 2008, p. 31).…”