The future of a futuristic
device
James Katz
Dr James Katz is a Professor of Communication and founder of the Center for Mobile Communication Studies at Rutgers University. He was formerly the Head of the Social Science Research Unit at Bell Communications Research (Bellcore). Katz wrote and edited a series of award-winning books, among them "Perpetual Contact: Mobile Communication, Private Talk and Public Performance". His latest book, "Magic in the air: Mobile communication and the transformation of social life", will be available in early 2006. In his receiver contribution, he explains why so many users perceive the mobile phone to be a futurist tool, and tells us what users will want in their phones beyond the glittering shell.
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My research suggests that, at least in terms of the mobile phone, these early adopters say that having the most advanced mobile phone technology makes them feel like they are living at the edge of tomorrow. The technology gives them a sense of the possible and the unprecedented. Thus in a very real sense, they not only have a feeling that they are living in the future, but - by having new powers and experiences that only recently became technologically feasible - in many senses they already are.
This "living in the future" sense has both intrinsic and extrinsic attractions. In terms of intrinsic attraction, having futuristic devices suggests that the users have more insight and power than those left behind in the past. They are in several senses visitors who are experiencing today what others can only experience later. In terms of extrinsic attraction, future-oriented users can avail themselves of distinctive pleasures and conveniences. If knowledge is power, then the users of futuristic devices appear to have the knowledge to command resources and deal with various contingencies. In essence, this bestows power: they know what other people's future will be like. Having a sought-after mobile phone makes one the envy of one's peers, which is important given the essential role of competitiveness and status ranking processes that are an integral part of life in society. The importance is particularly vital to those who are young and undergoing identity formation.
Together, these factors go far in explaining why today's "frequent buyers" and early adopters continue to want in their mobile phones futuristic styling and breakthrough features. Significantly, although futuristic users want both style and function, many will in fact choose desirable styling over desirable functions if the choice must be made. (This also appears to be the case for other important purchases, such as homes and cars.) Certainly, futuristic styling and design has been part of the mobile phone's exterior from its earliest days. After all, Motorola has said that it was inspired by the TV series Star Trek, and Captain Kirk's flip-top communicator when they designed the StarTAC (the world's first wearable cellular phone which was introduced in 1996). In the early days of the mobile, price had a lot to do with giving the mobile phone a luxury cachet: the great expense of ownership and use meant that only privileged elites could afford it. Having the device was guaranteed to confer prestige on its owner and it quickly became an iconic symbol of success and achievement. So it is of little surprise that ads from the mobile phone's early days featured futuristic themes, and movies of the era used it to bestow the highest imaginable wealth and status on the user, as in the 1987 film Wall Street.
The cachet of a high-end phone remains quite strong despite the fact that the mobile phone has become in its cheaper versions a common tool among all sectors of society. The image of the mobile phone as a futuristic luxury has remained a prominent fixture for more than two decades, and continues to be underscored when hot new styles are lavishly introduced by manufacturers. Fashion shows continue to be a favored venue for product introduction.
In addition to the style of a mobile phone itself, personality traits and value orientations are also important predicators of taste in mobile communication devices. Some research shows that personality traits are associated with varying attraction to differing styles of mobile phones. Futuristic styles are popular with those who are outgoing, reliant on the external environment for cues about internal states, or attentive to those in the immediate vicinity. People who are relatively high on the above traits also seem to be more frequent buyers of new mobile phones and advanced services.