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Seminar Follow-up Exercises: Smartphone The networking of the self

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Adam Greenfield's, ‘Smartphone The networking of the self’ is the first chapter of his book Radical Technologies: the design of everyday life (2017). The chapter explores two main ideas: the effects of the appearance of the smartphone on people's daily lives and how it has changed their environment, and the reliance on smartphones that causes people to overlook its unethical origin. It begins by exploring the concept of dematerialization and its effects through the analysis of a 2005 ethnographic study on what people carried in their pockets pre smartphones, the use of online maps nowadays, and an explanation of the unethical mode of production used to make smartphones, which clearly depicts people's reliance on smartphones as they are willing to participate even though it has proven to come from unethical sources.

The “dematerialization” (Greenfield, 2017, p.14) caused by the smartphone has impacted people in how they perform everyday life activities and its impact on their environment.

He refers to the ethnographic study by Keio University and a group of researchers from the Intel Corporation's Peoples and Practices group as evidence. In this way, he suggests that the rise in popularity of the smartphone has rapidly caused dematerialization and changing habits as he compares what people living in cosmopolitan cities in 2005 had in “their pockets” (Greenfield, 2017, p.13). He concludes that the smartphone has replaced most objects; for example, money has been digitized into online banking. He reiterated this point thrice more, such as the human adaptability to digital technologies when exploring the contemporary use of maps in mobile digital platforms. (Greenfield, 2017, p.22)

Greenfield suggests that people who use smartphones will enjoy a more comfortable life. Nonetheless, it should be considered that significant populations such as older generations and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds would not share the same experience. This is because the disappearance of in-person services would result in them having to work harder to participate in society, which the author does not mention. This idea is supported by Elizabeth Bird's acknowledgment that “technological access is not equality distributed” (Bird, 2011, p.509), which suggests that not everyone gets to benefit from technological advancements.

Greenfield also argues that behind the creation of the smartphone, “there is another story” (Greenfield, 2017, p.19) with regards to the ethical implication of its fabrication. Smartphones are manufactured in China, in factories where the wages are low, people work long hours, and they are exposed to toxic chemicals causing “distressingly high suicide rates” (Greenfield, 2017, p.19) amongst their workers. This suggests that people have become highly reliant on smartphones to complete basic everyday tasks, to the extent where they overlook their unethical origins to make their lives easier. I agree with Greenfield's argument as its popularity is undeniable; just walking down the street, it can be observed that everyone has a smartphone. Paul Mihailidis also supports this argument as he claims that “the mobile phone now has the capacity to facilitate widespread and dynamic collaboration, coordination, and participation.” (Mihailidis, 2013, p.59) which is why people ignore the ethical problems that come with smartphone production, as their lives are reliant on it. He doesn't mention the effect of late capitalism and the impact of The Silicon Valley model regarding the societal structure and the development of technology, which could help the reader understand why the tech industry exploits workers.

Overall, Greenfield approaches the relationship between humans and smartphones on a personal level. Although he does briefly mention the unethical issues of the production, he neglects the societal connection to the smartphone. He discusses how it mediates the life of an individual. Furthermore, the chapter explores the experience of advanced cosmopolitan societies and cultures. Still, they do not take into account how smartphones or the lack thereof affect large groups of the world's population who do not have access to them.

Word Count: 642

Bibliography

Bird, S., 2011. ARE WE ALL PRODUSERS NOW?. Cultural Studies, 25(4-5)

Greenfield, A 2017, Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life, Verso, London. Mihailidis, P. (2014) ‘A tethered generation: Exploring the role of mobile phones in the daily life of young people’, Mobile Media & Communication, 2(1)