[mobile-society] Re: imagined privacy and public space

[SCamp10343]

On a somewhat related note, I wonder if the cultural trait of individualism-collectivism might play a role in this.  Specifically, one might speculate that members of collectivistic cultures would be less tolerant of mobile phone use, especially loud talking, during social occasions with a collective focus than would members of individualistic cultures. Next month I am going to conduct a cross-cultural study exploring this question, so if anyone has come across literature in this area, feel free to share.  I have seen lit on cross-cultural differences/similarities and a little (namely by Steve Love) on personality traits and mobile phone use in public, but nothing on individualism-collectivism as of yet.   Regards, Scott Campbell     In a message dated 1/22/2006 8:00:28 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Here in Beijing, I mainly take public transportation to go somewhere. The riders of either subway or bus are primarily younger people or relatively low income groups. And a big portion of them is not native Beijing born. Anyway, the income oriented stratification is getting more and more obvious in terms of commuting. I remembered one of the topic discussed was on "imagined privacy". My observation is that some riders often talk loud with their friends (co-riders) even they are not on the phone. (Of course, this sort of thing is more common in Beijing restaurants). Indeed, the practice of privatization of public place has never been really challenged in Chinese culture. I wonder if this is one of the reasons why mobile phones are diffused so rapidly in China. One step further, for cultures that endorse a sharper line between public space and private space, I wonder if the mobile phone may facilitate the erosion of the social norm.  --- You are currently subscribed to mobile-society as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to %%email.unsub%%   --- You are currently subscribed to mobile-society as: archive@mail-archive.com To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]