Mobile Momentum: Conceptualizing the Social and Technological Changes of Mobile Communication

• In Event: Innovations in Methods and Theory

Abstract

Drawing on the concept of technological momentum developed by Thomas Hughes, this paper seeks to develop a theoretical framework for understanding the social and technological changes that have arisen (and will continue to arise) with the development and popularization of mass mobile telephony worldwide. The paper has three parts: It begins by outlining the concept of technological momentum and highlighting its use for scholarly understanding of large-scale changes brought about by recent patterns in technological usage; it then focuses on mobile communication and develops the idea of mobile momentum, drawing on a set of episodic empirical studies of mobile usage; finally, the paper uses the idea of mobile momentum to explore questions of authority and power that have emerged and are likely to emerge as mobile communication continues to develop and integrate capabilities from other technologies. The paper seeks to identify the ways that mobile telephony is distinct in debates about technological and social determinism, and the ways that mobile communication can re-ignite a discussion about technological momentum and social change. Both the paper and the presentation are intended as an opportunity for scholars to think conceptually about how to theorize emerging communication technology, especially as it continues to evolve in ways both imagined and unimagined.

Author

• Colin Agur, University of Minnesota