Mobile media and communication

Abstract

Mobile telephony is the most widespread mediation technology in the world. With access to the wireless internet, mobile devices have expanded from a tool of voice or text-based communication to devices and services for multimedia communication, consumption and production. More importantly, not only users and their communication but also the patterns and consequences of their action and interaction become mobile across time and space. In this chapter we focus on the social ramifications of mobile media and communication. We start with a brief history of mobile media and communication, highlighting the technological affordances of the mobile internet. We review theoretical issues and report major streams of empirical research. We conclude with a discussion of research agenda with both theoretical and practical implications and call for political, economic, infrastructural, and industrial analyses of mobile communication and media that contextualize and structure user experiences.