Castell’s essay on wireless communication is just barely “adequate.” After reading the essay I felt he pomped up his diction, without saying anything about the meaning of these new trends and why they matter. My phone can be used to create an instant social gathering, so what? Why do we create these gatherings and what impact does the ability to do so have on us. This frustration is increased when reading the last part of the essay, where he describes, “Access to the Wireless Network as a Source of Personal Value and as a Social Right.” (Crowley, and Heyer ) Why would I consider a cell phone to be a human right if I don’t understand the way it actually changes the way we live? I can assume a multitude of reasons, but my reasons are exactly that, assumptions. Castell is supposed to be making the case for how cell phones are changing the way we live, but never explains how or why that matters.
Castell does point out the ease of communication and how that is creating new norms for when it is and isn’t okay to use them, and that our social networks are being redefined. The rise of individualism, I believe, is directly related to the way in which we can ignore someone to communicate with someone else. There is always somebody who wants to hear your ideas, and if you can’t find a person, you can always post them on facebook. This new trend of thinking one’s ideas matter (for lack of a better way to word it) would obviously increase the importance of the individual in us. These are the kind of connections which when reading I wish Castell would have at least hinted at, instead of completely changing the subject via new paragraph.
Castell’s point that, “people build their own private space by simply ignoring others around them” (Crowley, and Heyer ) is an exaggeration. While I have consciously ignored people by taking out my phone, I have also brought people into current social gathering via my cell phone as well. Castell even makes the point that social gatherings have become easier to do because of mobile devices, “the emergence of unplanned, largely spontaneous communities of practice in instant time, by transforming an initiative to do something together into a message.” (Crowley, and Heyer ) Castell never connects the two ideas, they are in two separate paragraphs, but these connections need to be made. People now can ignore others they wish not to be in contact with, and create stronger bonds with those they do. However, this doesn’t seem like a new practice to me. Haven’t people always ignored those they wished not to speak to, and gathered with those they do? I understand that wireless devices are being used to shape the social environment you are in. But why does it matter if people have always had this opportunity, and what impact does the instantaneous nature of mobile devices have on it? If anything people are now allowed to manage their time better, instead of sitting in a waiting room bored for an hour, you can plan lunch with a friend for later in the day. Instead of listening to a professor read a power-point word for word that you’ve already read the night before, you can do homework for the next class (this was not influenced in any way by our MCS class). Instead of listening to a god warrior you can plan your next bible burning. If anything mobile devices only make us more productive, a point which fell through, at least in my opinion, in Castell’s essay.
Though written only four years ago (according to the publication date in the back of the book), this article seems dated. It doesn’t address any web based mobile applications, and actually separates “online activities” from mobile devices. These two have melded into one device you can take anywhere, and that new device might be the cause for my frustrations with the essay. Also, with the growing number of mobile devices I’m sure the amount of research has increased exponentially. While I do understand what Castell is trying to convey, I found his diction over the top, his tone far too lofty, and his points undefined or un-expanded, and all this for talking about teenagers on their cellphones in class.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION:
Crowley, David, and Paul Heyer. Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society. 6th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, Print.
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