Mobile Phones: from everyday to emergency
Much research demonstrates that a major motivation for having a mobile phone is for safety and security reasons. This is particularly evident in parental attitudes towards their children having mobile phones. The following two quotes come from separate – and very recent – reports conducted by the Australian Government’s Australian Communications and Media Authority:
“Parents…talked about the added security benefits that a mobile phone provided and how they relied on it to keep in touch with their children.” (2007a, p.10)
“Benefits arising from children’s mobile phone use are described in terms of including children’s safety and security, keeping in touch with family and friends, having the ability to make a phone call in an emergency and peace of mind for parents.” (2007b, p.31)
No doubt we can extend this belief in the comfort of always being connected, and the supposed safety and security this brings, to other individuals; that is, beyond simple parental concern for children. Certainly, children are not the only ones who find themselves in situations where their safety or security is threatened, situations where a mobile phone would come in handy.Recently in Australia there have been a number of instances where mobile phones have played a key role not just in individual safety and security, but in the resolution of emergencies that seem to transcend the everyday banality of their use. Three events drew my attention in recent months/weeks:
“Parents…talked about the added security benefits that a mobile phone provided and how they relied on it to keep in touch with their children.” (2007a, p.10)
“Benefits arising from children’s mobile phone use are described in terms of including children’s safety and security, keeping in touch with family and friends, having the ability to make a phone call in an emergency and peace of mind for parents.” (2007b, p.31)
No doubt we can extend this belief in the comfort of always being connected, and the supposed safety and security this brings, to other individuals; that is, beyond simple parental concern for children. Certainly, children are not the only ones who find themselves in situations where their safety or security is threatened, situations where a mobile phone would come in handy.Recently in Australia there have been a number of instances where mobile phones have played a key role not just in individual safety and security, but in the resolution of emergencies that seem to transcend the everyday banality of their use. Three events drew my attention in recent months/weeks:
- miners caught underground during a Ballarat mine collapse in regional Victoria were able to contact authorities and rescuers on the surface using mobile phones. (Nov 19, 2007)
- recently two bushwalkers became lost in bushland. This was resolved largely with the use of mobile phones and the cameras on them: the lost bushwalkers were able to MMS images of surrounding topological features to authorities, facilitating a successful rescue. (Jan 3, 2008)
I would argue that mobile phones played a successful role in the resolution of the emergencies not because of their ‘special nature’ of being portable devices (of course this is important), but primarily due to their increasing banality! It is the very fact that they are found everywhere – in students’ pockets, in women’s handbags, in the briefcases and on boardroom tables – that meant they were actually present when needed in an emergency. It is the human element – remembering to use the capabilities of mobile technologies – that is the most innovative in these situations. In both cases, the people involved used these devices in such extreme situations only because they were such a part of their everyday life that they had them on their person. It is doubtful that the individuals involved actually thought in depth about how they their phones might be useful in such circumstances (though it may have crossed their minds), but rather, simply had the devices with them as part of contemporary everyday attire. It is not the devices themselves that are the exciting part, but the change in human behaviours.
We may frown at interruptions caused by mobile phones ringing at inappropriate times, but obviously, it is not the fault of the phones, but of the user: appropriate use of phones is a matter of individual behaviour. After all, these devices do not function all by themselves, but only through human interaction. The increasing capabilities of mobile devices are thus being utilized in a range of innovative circumstances: emergencies and life-threatening situations merely bring this more overtly to the attention of the media. But the use of mobile technologies in extreme situations is not wholly new, as was demonstrated by the use of ‘smartphones’ by embedded journalists during the Iraqi invasion of 2003.
Paul Levinson, in his text "Cellphone: the story of the world's most mobile medium and how it has transformed everything!" devotes a whole chapter of his text to the use of cellphones in warzones, pointing out how they change the way war is not only reported, but perceived by the media, and therefore, how the wider public understands such events.
It seems that the more these technologies become everyday and disappear into the fabric of social practice, the more likely they are to arise as tools of ‘salvation’ – or controversy (as depicted by the filming or articulation of crimes, such as during the Cronulla riots.). News reporting organisations no longer simply wait for something to happen involving mobile technologies, but actively solicit viewers to send in their own recorded footage of newsworthy events.
I would argue that mobile phones played a successful role in the resolution of the emergencies not because of their ‘special nature’ of being portable devices (of course this is important), but primarily due to their increasing banality! It is the very fact that they are found everywhere – in students’ pockets, in women’s handbags, in the briefcases and on boardroom tables – that meant they were actually present when needed in an emergency. It is the human element – remembering to use the capabilities of mobile technologies – that is the most innovative in these situations. In both cases, the people involved used these devices in such extreme situations only because they were such a part of their everyday life that they had them on their person. It is doubtful that the individuals involved actually thought in depth about how they their phones might be useful in such circumstances (though it may have crossed their minds), but rather, simply had the devices with them as part of contemporary everyday attire. It is not the devices themselves that are the exciting part, but the change in human behaviours.
We may frown at interruptions caused by mobile phones ringing at inappropriate times, but obviously, it is not the fault of the phones, but of the user: appropriate use of phones is a matter of individual behaviour. After all, these devices do not function all by themselves, but only through human interaction. The increasing capabilities of mobile devices are thus being utilized in a range of innovative circumstances: emergencies and life-threatening situations merely bring this more overtly to the attention of the media. But the use of mobile technologies in extreme situations is not wholly new, as was demonstrated by the use of ‘smartphones’ by embedded journalists during the Iraqi invasion of 2003.
Paul Levinson, in his text "Cellphone: the story of the world's most mobile medium and how it has transformed everything!" devotes a whole chapter of his text to the use of cellphones in warzones, pointing out how they change the way war is not only reported, but perceived by the media, and therefore, how the wider public understands such events.
It seems that the more these technologies become everyday and disappear into the fabric of social practice, the more likely they are to arise as tools of ‘salvation’ – or controversy (as depicted by the filming or articulation of crimes, such as during the Cronulla riots.). News reporting organisations no longer simply wait for something to happen involving mobile technologies, but actively solicit viewers to send in their own recorded footage of newsworthy events.
References
Australian Communications and Media Authority (Australian Government) (November, 2007a). Telecommunications today: Consumer attitudes to take-up and use. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Australian Communications and Media Authority (Australian Government) (December, 2007b). Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007: Report of the Media and Society Research Project. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Levinson, P. (2004). Cellphone: the story of the world’s most mobile medium and how it has transformed everything! Houndmills, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Litras, P (Nov 19, 2007). “Trapped Ballarat miners rescued.” The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Phone photos save bushwalkers.” The Australian, January 3, 2008. Retrieved on 10 January from: www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23002494-2702,00.html
posted by Calvin Taylor at 3:14 pm
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