Mobile Communications: An Introduction to New Media

Description

The mobile phone has achieved a global presence faster than any other form of information and communication technology. A global multi-billion dollar industry, this small, mundane device is now an intrinsic part of our everyday life. This communications medium has had an immense social and cultural impact and continues to evolve. Talking, texting, photographing, videoing, connecting to a network of other media - the cellphone now seems essential. But, beyond the ways in which it has actively restructured our daily lives, the mobile has changed our sense of ourselves and the way we see the world. The relationship between public and private space, how we view time and space, how we rely on and negotiate social networks - all are increasingly centred on this small piece of technology. Mobile Communications presents a succinct, challenging, and accessible overview of the transformations and challenges presented by this most personal, yet most overlooked technology.

Nicola Green is Senior Lecturer in New Media and New Technologies in the Dept of Sociology, University of Surrey. Leslie Haddon is Researcher and Associate Lecturer in the Dept of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Sciences.

"Drawing together an impressive array of previous studies, including the authors' own research, Mobile Communications situates the mobile phone in the context of debates about ICTs and new media. With a clear, accessible style, it summarises this emerging field, draws out important issues, and provides a key resource for students." David Bell, University of Leeds