The Phone and The World

A recent article in the Economist (www.economist.com) titled “The Apparatgeist calls” reminds us that culture influences more than the food we eat and the time we eat it. Rather the writer points out that culture shapes what we name things like our phones which, when translated into English, are referred to as cellulars, mobiles, hand machines, handys or something you can carry with you depending on where you live. (The US, UK, China,Germany, Japan).

Beyond naming culture and lifestyle shapes the look of the phones we buy and how we use them. For example when and where we are willing to take a call. The author suggests that in Italy people are willing to pay for a great looking phone rather than minutes to talk while the Germans generally are more concerned about cost that appearance.

History, economics, too play a role in shaping the use of phones, but the one constant across all cultures seems to be that the phone you can carry has become an integral part of our lives.