Social Culture of Mobile Phones: A Case Study of China and...

1. Introduction Tobeginwith,thispaperwillprovideabriefbackgroundofthemobilephone’sdevelop-ment.In1973,MartinCooper,thetelephoneengineerofMotorola,developedthefirstportablecellularphone. In themid-and late1980s, thecellularphonewasgradually finding itswayintoAmerican families.Atthat time,NTTstartedto introducecellularphones inJapan. In1987, the firstanaloguecellularmobile telephonesystemwasbuiltandcame intoservice inGuangdongProvince,China.Thecellularphone,weighingover500grams,wasthickandsolid.Although itonlymadevoicecallswithpoorsignal, itwastooexpensive forordinarypeople

＊ SchoolofHistoryandCulture,ShandongUniversity,China

Journal of East Asian Studies, No.14, 2016.3. （pp.179-202）

（Abstract）　　Humanbeingsaresocialanimals. It is instinctive tocommunicatewithothers.Themobilephone is essentially an interpersonal interaction tool usedbypeople to transmit information,convey feelingsandcoordinateactivities.Since itsbirth, themobilephonehas formeddifferentdominantsocial functions,andeach functionembodiesuniquesocialmeaning. In theearlystageof thecellularphone,duringwhichvoicecallswere thepredominant function, therewere fewsubscribers,andthephoneswerewidelyperceivedasluxuryitems.Inadditiontoone-to-onevoicecalls,withthedevelopmentofmobile technology, themobilephonehasprovidedother functions,suchasshortmessageserviceandemail,allowinguserstomakeachoicebetweensynchronousandasynchronouscommunication.Afterthe introductionofsmartphones,socialapplicationsandinstantmessages─representingahigherreturntoface-to-facecommunication─havecharacterizedavarietyofways toexpressoneself.Ononehand,under theconstructionofmobilephones,humansensesgetextensionwithpluralisticselfexistinginmultiplesocialspaceandtime;ontheotherhand,differentsocialneedsgrowingoutofdifferentrelationshipsamongpeoplearemetbyappropriatemobilesocial functions.Thispaperoutlinesthechangesofsocialrelationscausedbymobilephonesandanalyzes interpersonalrelations inconjunctionwithmobilesocialapplications.One trend inparticularhasemergedwhen itcomes tomaking friendswithstrangers throughmobilephones.Thatis,peoplearelookingforawaytosolvepracticalproblemsinsteadofchattinginvirtualworld.Inthefuture,moreandmoremediawillappearinourdailylife,andsubsequentlythereareboundtobequestionswithexcessivemediatedcommunication.Thispaperproposesanewsolution─“ubiquitoussociality”，joining inmobilegroupsonlinetosolvespecificproblems inreallife.

Keywordsmobilephone,socialrelations,mediatedsociality,ubiquitoussociality.

Social Culture of Mobile Phones: A Case Study of China and Japan

WANG Ting＊

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topurchase. In1995, thepenetrationrateofmobilephones inChinawas just0.3%１.In1992,Chinastartedacomprehensivemarket-orientedreform.Sincethen,thetelecommunicationin-dustryhasacceleratedthepaceofcommercialization.ChinaUnicomwasfoundedin1994andintroducedGSMdigitalmobileserviceoneyear later. In2000,ChinaMobilewasestablished.Withthedevelopmentofnationaleconomic levelsandthe improvementof livingstandards,peoplehavepaidmoreandmoreattentiontomobilecommunication,andthepenetrationratehasreached11.2%.However,theChinesemobilephonemarketwasmonopolizedbyMotorola,NokiaandEricsson,whichwerethethreemostpopularforeigncellularphonecompanies.Un-deraseriesofpoliciessupportedbythegovernment,Chinesemanufacturersbegantodevelopmobilephones.Asaresult,manynewbrandssprangupinashortperiodoftime.Mobilephoneshipmentsincreasedgreatlywhilethepriceofthephonesbegantodecrease.InMarchof2001,Chinahadmorethan100millionsubscribers─thehighestnumberofusersintheworld─yetitspenetrationwasjust11.44%.IncontrasttoChinesemobilesubscribers,mobilesubscribersnumberedabout69.1millioninJapaninthesameyear,whichwaslessthaninChina.However,Japanwasinagloballeadingpositioninpenetration,witharateof54.3%２.Themobilephonehastransformedfromaluxuryintoautility.Theyear2008wasaturningpointinthemobilephone’shistory.TheiPhone3GwaslaunchedbyApple,leadingustothesmartphoneera.TheApple iPhone includes independentoperationsystems, fastnetworkconnectionsandhuman-izeddesigns.Fromthenon,themobilephonehasplayedanincreasinglyimportantpartofourdailylife.Infact,84%ofusersreportthattheycannotlivewithoutamobilephoneforoneday３.Ithasbecomenecessaryforpeopletoobtain information,get intouchwithothers,andtakepartinsocialactivitiesthroughthemobilephone.

１ Inthispaper,alldataaboutChinesemobilephonesubscribersandpenetrationcomefromtheofficialwebsiteoftheMinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnologyofthePeople’sRepublicofChina.http://www.miit.gov.cn/n11293472/index.html.

２ Inthispaper,alldataaboutJapanesemobilesubscribersandpenetrationratescomefromtheofficialwebsite of theMinistryof InternalAffairs&Communications of Japan.http://www.soumu.go.jp/johotsusintokei/field/tsuushin02.html.

３ TencentTechnology:http://tech.qq.com/zt2012/xxt/163.htm.

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Journal of East Asian Studies

Asasocialtool,voicecallsestablishinstantconnectionsandspeeduptherateofinforma-tiondiffusion.Callsalsohelppeopletocoordinateactivitieswhilebeing indifferent locationsandevendifferenttimezones.However, it isgenerallyoralcommunicationthatnecessitatesimmediateresponse.Unlikevoicecalls, shortmessageservicesbasedontextcanbeawayofasynchronouscommunication.WiththepenetrationofsmartphonesandthedevelopmentofmobileInternet,moreandmoreapplicationsenrichingsocial functionscanbe installedontomobilephones.Freelychoosingvideo,audio, text,andpicturesthatexpressemotionsandconvey information facilitateseasyandsmoothcommunication.Nowadays, themobilephonehasbecomecompletelyembeddedinsociety,asevidencedbypeopleexchangingmobilephone

Source:websiteofMinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnologyofthePeople’sRepublicofChina

Source:websiteofMinistryofInternalAffairs&CommunicationsofJapan

Figure 1　Mobile Subscribers and Penetration Rate of China

Figure 2　Mobile Subscribers and Penetration Rate of Japan

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numbersandsocialnetworkaccountsinallkindsofformalandinformalsituations.Thatistosay,socialitybasedonmobilephoneshasbecomeasignificantpartoflifeandhasanimpactonknowingourselves,connectingwithothers,andunderstandingsociety. There isawiderangeofdiscussiononsocialityofmobilephones inacademiccircles.InreviewofErvingGoffman’stheoriesofface-to-faceinteraction,RuthRettie(2009)suggeststhatthemobilephoneisbothsynchronousandasynchronousmediaandthedistinctionoftwokindsofinteractionsisnottechnologicallydeterminedbutshapedbyinteractionalnorms[1].Fromthepointofdoubleperspectives,AndreaCNakaya(2015)pointsoutthatitismoreconvenientforustocontacteachotherbymobilephones[2].However,becausepeopleareengaging inmorecommunicationviaphoneandlesscommunicationinperson,theyareatariskofforgettingorlosing important interpersonalskillsthatareonlymaintainedthroughface-to-face interaction.Worsestill,ithasalsobroughtmuchdispensablemeaninglessinformation.Owingtotheuniquebusinessecosystem,theJapanesemobilephoneindustryhasledtheworldfrommobilehandsetproductiontoservicesdesign.Therefore,muchworkonthistopichasbeendonebyJapanesescholars.Forexample,OkadaTomoyukiandMatsudaMisalookuponmobilephonesasaspe-cialistsubjectandputforward“mobilescience”earlyin2002,whenmobileproductionanditspopularitywerestillintheearlystagesinChina.Theyarguethatitisnecessarytoviewmo-bilemediaasaspecializedsubjectandtopicofresearchwithintheperspectiveofcultureandsociety[3].DaisukeOkabe,MizukoItoandotherscholars (2005)exploremobilephoneswithinJapanese life indepth fromtheviewpointsofculturesand imaginations,socialnetworksandrelationships[4].Differentfromobserversinothercountriesandregions,Chinesescholarsfocusonthemobilephone’sbusinessmodel,andthereisrelativelylittleworkwithopinionsonmediaandculture.However,WangPing(2008)discussestheco-constructionofmobilemediaandso-cialcontactfromthepositiveandnegativepointsofview[5].HuChunyang(2012)alsocombinesthetopicsofmobilemediaandinterpersonalcommunicationtoinvestigatetheshapingeffectsofmobilephonesondailyandpubliclife[6]. Mobilephonesfacilitatehumanbeings’socialactivities.However,itisundeniablethattherearestillsomeproblemsandnegativeeffects.Forexample,usersmakeexcessiveself-disclosureandself-presentationorestablish improperrelationswithstrangersunder theprotectionofmobilephones’screens.Problemssuchasthesewilldoharmtothehealthofinterpersonalre-lationsandstabilityofsocialorders.Inlightoftheseproblems,thisstudyaimsatexploringthedeepreasonsofsocialactivitiesbasedonmobilephonesandfindingmethodstoreduceoreveneliminatethesekindsofproblems.Inthefuture,socialactivitiesonmobilephoneswillinfiltrateinallaspectsofourdailylife.Therefore,theultimategoalofthisstudyistryingtoseekonewayofhelpingpeopletoenjoyhealthyandreasonablesocialactivitiesbymobilephones. Thestructureofthispaperisasfollows.Inthenextsection,threedominantsocialformsofmobilephonesare investigated: first,voicecalls in theearlystagesofmobilephoneuseareusedfor flauntingwealth; then, theshortmessageservicesprovidepeoplemorechoices

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betweensynchronousandasynchronoussociality; lastly, instantmessagesstandsforahigherformsofface-to-faceinteraction.Sectionthreeofthispaperdiscussesthesocialrelationscon-structedbythemobilephone.Sectionfourassessestwotrendsinmobile-mediatedcommunica-tion,mainly inmediatedandubiquitouscommunication.Finally,sectionfiveconcludeswithadiscussionoffutureresearchconsideration.Astheworld’sleadingplayerinthemobileindus-try,Japanese─especially in featurephone (thesecondstageofphone’sdevelopment:cellularphone,featurephoneandsmartphone)times─isunmatchedbyanyothercountry.Thatistosay,thepastofJapanesemobilesocialcultureisthepresentofChinesemobilesocialculture,whichis likethe“TimeMachineTheory”[7]raisedbySonMasaYoshiofSoftBank.Toelabo-rate,thesamebusinessthatfirststartedinthedevelopedcountryisintroducedintodevelop-ingcountrywhenthetimeisright,thenseemingtoreturntothedevelopedcountryyearsago.Ascloseneighborsseparatedbyonlyastripofwater,ChinaandJapanhavesimilarculturaltraditions;hence,acomparisonofJapanwhilediscussingChinesemobilesocialcultureisneces-sary.

2. The evolution of dominant social forms Themobilephonehasexperiencedthreemainstages fromitsbirth,andeachstagehasdominantsocialforms.InadditiontophonetechnologyandmobileInternet,theestablishmentandmaintainingofsocialrelationshipsisalsodeterminedbyculturaltraditionsandsocialreali-tieswithinaspecificcontext.

2.1 Voice calls in the early stages of mobile phone use: flaunting wealth Theaimofresearchanddevelopmentof the firstgenerationofanaloghandsetswastomakeupfortheshortcomingsoflandlinetelephonesthatcouldnotbecarriedoutofthehouse.Although itonlyprovidesashortcall time, theanaloghandsetstillhas importantmeaningsincommunicationasfollows.Firstofall,mobilityisconsideredtheessenceofamobilephonesinceitfreesusersfromfixedspacessuchasahouse,anoffice,oratelephonebooth.Peoplecantakethephonewiththemselveswherevertheygoandcontactothersonthemovetodealwithemergenciesandarrangemeetings, forexample.Second,relativeto landlinetelephonesusedbymorethanoneperson,mobilephonesareindividualmedia.Themobilephoneinsteadestablishesadirectone-on-onerelationship─beingatotallyindividualcommunicationmedium.Thirdly,effectiveness isan importantmeaning.There is littleredundancy invoicecallsbe-causeit iseasytoidentifyandgraspthementalstateandemotionsconditionofthespeakeraccordingtohisorhertoneofvoice,thespeedofthevoice,andthespeaker’sresponsetimetothecontentof theconversation.Lastly,asan individualizedmedia,mobilecommunicationbasedoncallerIDsystemreducesandeliminatesvirtual feelingresulting fromoff-site.Themobilephone isa two-waycommunicationmedium.That is, theusevalue isproportionate

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tothenumberofsubscribers.Takethefaxmachineforexample.Itisuselessifthereisonlyonefaxmachineintheworld.Inotherwords,toolslikephonesandfaxmachineshavingmoreusevaluewhentheyareusedbymorepeople.Fromthelate1980stothemid-1990s,becauseofthelowpenetrationofcellularphonesintoChina’spopulation,themobilephonewasalessconvenientmediumthan itshouldbe.Acustomerhadtopayatotalof28,000RMBforonehandset,subscriptionfees,andstoredcharges４.Whatismore,itwasnecessarytoobtainproofofworkplacesandaspecialpurchaseindexwhenChinaswitchedfromaplannedeconomytoamarketeconomy.Whentheyfinallygottheirmobilephones,italwayshalfayearpassed.In1992,Chinastartedtoestablishasocialisteconomicsystem.Theeconomictransformationledtoanacceleratedperiodofurbanization.Manyfarmerslivedinthecountrysidebecauseoffa-milialties,butwhenthestateeliminatedtheregionallimitoncitizensmovingtothecity,manyof these farmersmovedtothecities inordertogaina livelihoodmorerewardingthanthatofagriculture.Thegovernment’srelaxationonthehouseholdregistrationpolicyalsospedupthismovementofthepopulationtothecities.Somepeopleseizedtheopportunityintheearlystagesofreformandopennessandmadeahugefortune,becomingthemainsubscribersofmo-bilephones.Thiswas,astandardsceneinatypicalmoviefromthe1990s,abusinessmanholdsabigcellularphoneandcallsoutloudly“Hello?Hello?Icannothearyou!Speakagain!”.Whatthesepeoplelikedmostwasdoingthisinpublicplaces,suchasbuses,trainsandrestaurants.Themorepeople,thebetter.However,thisscenewasnotuniquetoChina.Intheearly1990sinJapan,themobilephonewasastatussymbolidentifiedwithwealthybusinesspeople.Thespecialmeaningsassociatedwiththemobilephoneatthatstageincludedthesenseof“thesuc-cessfulman”withanimageofthe“proudandoverweening”displayinghisfortune.ThiswasthesamekindofperceptionconnectedwithChinesebusinessmen; theywere fondofcallinginpublic.Anarticlethatappearedinawomen’smagazinesatirizedthesebusinessmenbyde-pictingthemcallingthemselvesbymobilephoneaskiftherewasanycallsforthem[8].Veblen(2007)proposedaviewcalled“conspicuousconsumption”toexplaintheabovephenomenon.Hearguesthattheonlypracticablemeansofimpressingone’specuniaryabilityontheseunsym-patheticobserversofone’severyday life isanunremittingdemonstrationofability topay[9].Featherstone(2007)holdsasimilaropinion.Heconteststhatwithinconsumerculturetherestillpersist “prestigeeconomies”withscarcegoodsdemandingconsiderable investment in time,money,andknowledgetoattainandhandleappropriately[10].Tosumup,thesocialvalueofmo-bilephonesintheearlystagesofusewasdisplayingwealth.

2.2 Short message services (SMS): asynchronous sociality In1992, the firstshortmessagewassent fromacomputer toamobilephonebyGSMnetofVodafone. InChina,2000sawtherapidadoptionofSMSasthisservicewas launched

４ GuoXiaofeng:ReviewingChineseMobileCommunicationinLast60Years. TencentTechnology:http://tech.qq.com/a/20090924/000312_4.htm

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inquicksuccessionbyChinaMobileandChinaUnicom.Inlessthan30years,shortmessageserviceshaveexperiencedatremendouschange.Itinitiallyreceivedandsentmessagesbasedon literal textandthenprogressedtoenhancedmessageservice (EMS)which increasedpic-ture,soundandanimationcapability.Supportedbywirelessapplicationprotocol(WAP),mobilephoneseasilyaccessedInternetsomultimediamessageservice (MMS)withthe functionsofbrowsingtheWebandcheckinge-mailstooktheplaceofEMS.IncontrasttoSMSinChina,Japanesemobile text ismainlymobileemails. Itwashardtosendmessagesbetweenuserswhosubscribedtodifferentcarriersbecausethesecarrierssetupsomebarrierstolocktheirsubscribers.In1999,NTTDoCoMostartedtolaunchthemobilenetworkservicecalled“i-mode”.BasedonmobileInternetservices,subscriberswereabletosendemailsandeachi-modesub-scriberhadoneexclusiveemailaddress[11].While the thirdgenerationmobilephonesystemspreadacrossJapan,Chinawasstillinthebeginningofthesecondgenerationmobilesystem.MobileemailhasseveralstrengthsincomparisonwithSMS.Besidesliteraltext,italsoallowsadditionofsomeemoticonsandattachments─likeonacomputer─withno limitationto thenumberofwords.However,theChineseSMSwaslimitedtoamaximumof70characters. BothSMSandemail,asmobileliteraltext,havesomesimilarfeaturesincommunication.Textmessageisatechnologicalrevolutionfromearstoeyes.Inotherwords,textplaysaroleof“hiddenvision”duringtheentireinteractionbetweentwopeoplebecausebothsidesareinacommunicationpatternduringwhichtheyarenotphysicallypresentwitheachother. It iseasyforthetwotocreateanimageofoneanotheraccordingtotheotherside’simagination.Owingtoasynchronouscommunication,thereisnoneedtoreplyimmediately,andeachpersonhasmoretimetoconsiderandrevisehisorhermessageinordertomakeitseemperfecttotheotherperson.However,thereisanothercommoncase.Assoonassomeusersreceivemes-sages,theyreplyatonce,especiallyfortheyouthinadolescence.Theyareeagertocommuni-catewithothersandensurethemselvesasamemberofagroup.Someofthemareaddictedtoreceivingandreplyingtomessages.Mobileliteraltextisneithercompletelyspokenlanguagenorwritten language.Rather, it fallssomewhere inbetweencolloquialismandentertainment.Meanwhile,paralinguisticcluesinlanguagesuchaseyecontacthavebeeninvolvedinthepro-cessesofbothhumancognitionandcommunication.Textmessageswiththecombinationofpunctuation,operationalsymbols,andletterssimulateaperson’sfaceandposturetomakeupfortheabsenceofphysicalbodylanguage.Moreimportantly,textmessagesarecheaperthanvoicecalls,whichcharge0.2-0.4RMBperminute─sometimesalsochargingroaming fees─whereasonetextmessageonlycosts0.1RMBandhasnolimitsonbeingsentfromdifferentregions.However,basedoni-mode,JapanesemobileemailuserspaymuchlowerthanChineseSMSusersbecausetheyarechargedfordatasize,ratherthantime.Withsomanyadvantages,bothmobileshortmessagesande-mailshaveagreatprogressinChinaandJapan. First,letusconsiderSMSinChina.From2001to2012,therewasanupwardtrendinthenumberoftextmessages.However,therehasbeenamodestdecreaseinthisnumberin2013.

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In2004,Chinesesent217.7billionmessagesandaccountedforonethirdofthetotal510billionmessagesallovertheworld.Infact,theamountofmessagessentby150millionAmericanus-ersislessthanthetotalamountofoneweek’sbyChineseusers５.AccordingtoMobileContentForum,in2009,20.8%Japaneseusersexchangedapproximatelyfourtofivemobileemailmes-sagesaday.61%usersreportedthattheyusedmobileemailathomeand37.9%users frompublic transportation.Moreover,47.9%userswouldcheckmobilee-mailoncetheyhad freetime６.

Source:websiteofMinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnologyofthePeople’sRepublicofChina

Figure 3　Tendencies of Mobile Subscribers and the Number of SMS Sending in China

Thepopularityofmobile textmessages inChinaandJapan isareasonablechoice formanycellularphoneusers,which is inkeepingwiththenationalpersonalityofEastAsians.Forexample,Chinesepeoplearenotaccustomedtorevealingtheir true,deepemotionsandthusbelongtoanintrovertedtemperament.Thus,Chinesepeoplemusttreadafinelinewhenexpressingopinionsortalkingwithothers.InJapan,containingemotionsisconsideredavirtue,andtheJapanesearetaughttoprohibitshowingfeelingsopenly.Theirimplicitstyleofspeak-ingisnotseenashypocrisybutasacodeofconduct.Infact,theyplacesomuchemphasisonmaintainingaharmoniousatmospherethattheytakenoticeofothers’ feelingsandattitudes.Moreover,itisbadformtospeakloudlyinpublic,especiallyinclosespaces.Forexample,ifamanmakesavoicecallwhileonpublictransportation,peoplenearbywillglanceathim.Thiskindofsilentpressure,alongwithpervasivesignagethatstates,“Pleasesetupmobilephonetomannermode,”callspassengers’attentiontotheimportanceofminimizingtheirphone’ssound.“Mannermode”meansnovoicecallsandnobeepingsounds.Underthismode,theonlywaytoactivelycommunicateisthroughemail.

５ HuChunyang:MobileCommunicationandInterpersonalRelationship,SdxjointPublishingCompany,2012,P.131.

６ MobileContentForum:WhiteBookofMobilePhonein2011,ImpressGroupCompany,2010,PP.46-47.

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2.3 Instant messages (IM): a higher form of face-to-face interaction Unliketraditionalfeaturephones,smartphoneshaveindependentoperatingsystemsandstoragespace.Theyalsoenableusersto installapplicationsprovidedbythirdparties.Moreimportantly,smartphonesconnecttotheInternetbymobilecommunicationnetworks,sothedatatraffic fulfills furtherreductiononcharges.Withsmartphones,thepreviouslydominantstatusofvoicecallsandSMSthatrelyontelecommunicationcarriersarereplacedbyinstantmessages.Smartphonespossessallsocial functionsofearliermobilephones.Allkindsof in-formationsuchasaudio,video,pictureandtextmessagescanbetransmitted fastbymobilephones.Also,therearemobileapplicationsforchattingthatcansupportmanypeople inonegroupatthesametime.Asforcost,1,000messagessentbyIMwillcost1RMBandthereisnolimittothenumberofcharacters.Itwillcost30MBtosend1000voicemessages,butpeoplejustpay5RMBpermonthtouseinstantmessageapplicationwiththemobileInternetservice７.IMprovidesnotonlyan inexpensivebutalso fast informationtransmission. IM─specificallyonsmartphones─emergedaround2009 in theUnitedStates.Somenotable IMapplicationsincludeWhatsApp,KIKMessenger,andPingChat.Subsequently,IMapplicationshavebecomeextremelypopulararoundtheworld─especiallywithyouth─because theyare free, fashion-able,simple,andfast.SomepopularChineseIMapplicationsareWechat,Talkbox,andMiTalk.Therewereapproximately588millionIMusersinChinauntilDecember,2014８andthisnum-berhasbeengrowing.ThemostpopularIMapplicationinJapan,calledLINE,wasdevelopedbyNHKJapanin2011.Asshowninthefollowingtable,ithasover300millionregisteredusersallovertheworldin2013.

Table 1 Popular Mobile IM Applications around the World

Name OriginUsers

(million)Active Amount Coverage Countries

Wechat China 600 100milliondailyactiveusers 200

Whats app UnitedStates 590 Over10billionmessagesinoneday 100

Facebook U.S. 300-550 68thousandupdateseveryminute ───

LINE Japan 3007billionmessagesand1billion

emoticonsinoneday193

Viber Israel 200 ─── ───

Snapchat UnitedStates 100 400millionpicturesinoneday ───

KakaoTalk Korea 100 ─── ───

Source:TencentTechnology,http://tech.qq.com/zt2012/xxt/218.htm

７ Thewebsite of Information Industry ofChina: http://www.cnii.com.cn/index/content/2011-06/29/content_889577_2.htm.

８ China InternetNetworkInformationCentre:The35thStatisticalReporton InternetDevelopment inChina,http://www1.cnnic.cn/IDR/ReportDownloads/201507/P020150720486421654597.pdf

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Lookingatthingsdialectically,newthingsareboundtobreedinoldthings,followingthelawofnegation.Thatistosay,thereisaspiralprogressintheschemeofallthings.Theorigi-nalintentionofIMwastofullytapintothepotentialofsociallinksinmobilephone’saddresslistsandsocialnetworksinreallife.IMbreaksthroughthebarriersofcarriers,hardware,soft-ware,andsocialnetworks,andfinallyrealizesseamlessconnectionbetweenrealandvirtualre-lations.Althoughitisusedfortheabsenceofphysicalbodycommunication,thelocation-basedservices(LBS)inIMaffordamorerefinedposition.Inaddition,whenthevideochatfeatureisused,peoplecanseeeachotherclearlyinreal-timeconversation,evenwhilebeingthousandsofmilesapart.AllofthesefeaturesenhancethesenseofimmediacyandrealitythatIMhasthecapabilitytobring,justlikeface-to-facecommunication. Compared to singularemotionalexpressionandemphasizingstrong tiesconnection invoicecallsandSMS, IMhasallkindsofexpressionsthatmeetmultilevel interpersonalrela-tions.ThemediaexpertMcluhan(1994)holdsthetheorythatmediaistheextensionofman[12].Specifically,ourbodiesextend inspacebymechanicaltechnology,butourcentralnervesex-tendbyelectronic technology,eliminating thedifferencesof timeandspacewithalmostallsensesgettingextendedandproducingabrandnewsenseofvision,hearing,andtouchrecep-tion.Inthisway,peoplecanexchangevisualsymbolslikemotionandfacialexpressioninaddi-tiontoexchangingspokenandwrittenlanguage.Withthehelpoflocation-basedservices,medi-atedcommunicationcanachieveahigherformofface-to-facecommunication. Next,IMsatisfiestheusers’requirementsofmaintainingstrongtieswithothers,betteringweakties,andestablishingnewconnectionsatrandom.However, thecourseofurbanizationhasbeenexpandingthescaleofcitieswithanincreasingpopulationandmoreconvenientpub-lictransportation,resultinginsocialalienation.Insociology,thebetterwaytosolveemotionalhunger isturningtotheaffectivesocialcapital─namely，strongties like immediate families,relatives,andclosefriends.Besidestheemotionalcomfort,peopleshouldestablishinstrumen-talsocialcapitalselectivelyoftheirownaccord.Bourdieu(1986)examinessocialrelationshipsindetail.Hebelieves that thenetworkof theserelationships is theproductof investmentstrategies─individualorcollective─consciouslyorunconsciouslyaimedatestablishingorre-producingsocialrelationshipsthataredirectlyuseableintheshortorlongterm.Thismeanstransformingcontingentrelations,suchasthoseofone’sneighborhood,theworkplace,orevenkinship,intorelationshipsthatareatoncenecessaryandelective,implyingdurableobligationssubjectivelyfeltorinstitutionallyguaranteed[13].Instrumentalsocialcapitalplaysamuchmoreimportantrole in informationaccess, the interchangeofresources,and increasingpopularity.Theyouthareinclinedtoestablishweakties─forexample,sendingafriendrequesttoamereacquaintanceonFacebook─toexpandsocialnetworkresourcesthroughmobilesocialapplica-tions.Inthisway,withtheinteractionofIM,thereisapossibilitytotransformweaktiesintouseful,strongties.

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3. Social relationships constructed by mobile phones Generallyspeaking,thecoreofsocialtiesisinterpersonalrelationship,butnavigatingtherelationshipbetweenamanandhimselfhasadirect influenceon interpersonal links.Asthelimitsonspaceandtimearebeingbrokenthrough,mobilemediaexpandhumansensescom-prehensivelywithmanywaysofexpressions.People transformphysicalbody intomultiplesocialspaces.Theextensionofhumanbeingscreatedbymobilephonesbringsaboutanewcognitivestyle,makinganimpactonself-awarenessandinterpersonalrelationships.

3.1 Self-awareness Self-awarenessisconstructedbyknowingone’sownneeds,interests,abilities,personality,actionsandmentalstateduringinteractionwithothers.Therefore,theselfisdecidedbyfreeselfandexternalrelations.Thatistosay,interpersonalrelationsareundertheinfluenceoftheself’scognitiontoadegree.Therearetwowaysthatself-awarenessisconstructedbymobilephones.Oneisself-determination,whichissetupthroughmobilemediause,andtheotherisself-disclosure,whichisbuiltonuser-generatedcontent. Asthe individualmediaof interpersonalcommunication,themobilephonehasbecomeasymbolof theuser’s individualpersonality.Theoutside influencesofadvertisingcampaigns,carriers’ services,andadvertisement influencepeople into intensifyingsenseofsubject-self.Forexample, the letter “I” in i-modestands for interactive, Internetand individuality.ChinaUnicom，thesecondbiggesttelecomcarrierinChina,itsbandWO,isacharacterthathasthesamepronunciationastheword“I”inChinese,whichalsoencouragestoconsidertheideaofself-awareness.AnotherCompany,ChinaMobile,usedadvertisingtacticsaimedattheyouth.Forexample, thecompanyhas introducedthemotto“MyZone,MyWay”tomanifestyouthpersonality.Suchadvertisingcampaigns fromthemobilephone industryhavehammeredatself-awarenessofcustomers.Withthe instillingof theadvertisementsandshapingofservicemodels,userswalkintothe“egoage”.Asaninformationsystem,themobilephoneexhibitstheinteractiverelationsbetweenmediaandsymbolism,linkingsuchsymbolswiththeunderstand-ingofitsusers.Forexample,anobviousconsistency─regardlessofappearanceorapplication─canbeseeninthesamemodelofsmartphoneswhenpeoplebuythemfirst.However,afteraperiodofusingthem,therearemanydifferencesamongusers,suchasthedecorationoftheoutercase,screenbackgroundpreference,andtheamountofapplicationsonthedevice.Therelativedominanceofmobilephonesmeetsthepsychologicalneedsof“self-determination”,anideawhichwasputforwardbyEdwardL.DeciandRichardM.Ryan(2000).Basingtheiridea,onfullyrealizingtheself’sneedsandenvironment-alinformation,theytaketheviewthattherighttofreedomtochoosesuchfactorsasscreenbackgroundandwhichapplicationstoinstall,forexample,caninspireongoingintereststotheactionwhichpeoplegoinfor[14].Thesubjectstatuswillbe furtherconsolidatedunderthesenseofachievementandsatisfactionresulting

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fromchoosinganddecidingaboutobject.Theinfluencethemobilephonehasonself-determina-tionleavesanimpressiononhumans,whichtheymaybehavetheabilitytocontroltheinteractcoursetosomeextent. Togetherwith self-awareness, self-disclosure and self-presentation cannotbe ignoredwithinthecontextofsocialeffects.Self-disclosurereferstotheactioninwhichsomeonehasamindtodisclosehisorherrealconditionandabilitytoothers.MichaelERoloff(1982)supportstheideathatmoderateorfullself-disclosureisinfavorofcultivatingothersandencouragingthemtodisclosethemselves[15].Asshowninthefigurebelow,themostparticipated-inactivitiesthatcoreusersdoonSinaMicro-blogareupdatingstatusandsendingphotos.Whilepeoplearekeepingupdatingaboutwhattheyhear,see,andthink,theyhopetogetupdatesfromfriends’,aswell.Self-presentationisdifferentfromself-disclosure.Itisaprocessduringwhichapersonpresentshisorheridealselfthroughtheirstyleofconversation,expressions,andgestures.Be-foretheuseofsmartphones,socialrelationsbasedonmobilephonesderivedfromacloseandstrongsocialcircle.Onthepremiseofeachother’s familiarity,peoplealwaysadoptself-pre-sentationtomaintainexistingrelationships.AsthemobileInternetdeveloped,socialrelationswerenotconfinedtorealisticsocietybutexpandedtoavirtualreality.Consequently,duetotheneedtoprotectprivacyorshapeone’spublicimage,peoplehavehadatendencytoadoptthecombinationofself-disclosureandself-presentation.

Source:SinaTechnology,http://it.sohu.com/20110519/n280623821.shtml

Figure 4　Core Users’ Main Social Behaviors in Sina Micro-blog

MostusersofMixiinJapanregisterwithfictitiousnamesforthepurposeofwritingdia-riesandsendingphotosbecausetheyarereluctanttorevealaccurateinformationaboutthem-selvesontheInternet.Self-concealmentinsocialnetworksrepresentstheentireJapaneseso-cietyinamicrocosm.Thingshavechangedastimegoesby.Theyouthwhousemobilephonesocialapplications,especiallyteensandtwenties,logondifferentsocialnetworksbyreal-nameandnicknamerespectively.Chineseareapttomaketheirnamesknowntothepublicsoasto

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besearchedforandfoundbyoldfriends.Tomakeiteasiertobefamiliartoothers,Chineseusersliketosendembellishedphotosthroughphotosoftwareandshareeverythingfromtheirliveswith friends. “Sharing”hasbecomethe importantpart in interpersonalcommunication,whichhasbothpositiveandnegativeeffects.Asynchronouscommunicationgeneratesmoretimeforpeopletoconsider,choose,andedittheinformationtheywanttosend.Communicatorsareespeciallyincontrolofleavingabetterimpressiononotherstoshowofftheiroptimalself.With theself-disclosureandself-presentationeffects frommobilemedia, theprocessofself-awarenessisbeingtransformedfromlabelingoneselfinarealsocialcircletobecomingaplu-ralisticselfinavirtualworld.Theessenceofdisclosureandpresentationnecessitates“sharing”insocialnetworks.However,everythinghasits limits.Itmightalsobenotedthat infrequentsharingmaydistanceapersonfromhisorherfriends,buttoomuchsharingmayborethosefriends,andonemayevenbeblocked.

3.2 Three relationships MarkGranovetter (1973)proposes that the“strength”ofan interpersonalrelationship issatisfiedbyfourelements:theamountoftimeinvested,theemotional intensity,the intimacyandthereciprocityof therelationship[16].Themoretimespentontherelationshipthestron-gertheemotionsare,themoreintimatethemomentsare,andthemoremutualbenefitsthereare indicatesstrongties.Otherwise, therelationship isratherweak. Inhisview，those fourdimensionshavenoparticularorders,buttherearedistinctimpactsonstrong-weakeffectsofinterpersonalrelations.Forexample,relationsamongrelatives,couplesandfriendsarestrongandclosebutdonotnecessarilyinvolvehighinteractionfrequencyandmoremutualbenefits;classmatesandcolleaguesmayfrequently interactandexchangeresources foran indetermi-nateperiod,butrelationsneednotbestrongerthanrelativesandfriends.Therefore,accordingtotheimpactsoninterpersonalinteraction,thesequenceofthefourdimensionsshouldbeemo-tionalstrength,intimacylevel,interactionalfrequency,andbenefitdegree.Mobilephoneshavesomanyfunctionstomeetdifferentsocialneeds.Accordingtothisorder,peoplecanchooseproperapplicationtointeract. Inatraditionalagriculturalsociety,socialrelationsare formedonaccountof face-to-facecommunicationwiththerestrictionsofterritorialenvironment,trafficconditions,andcommu-nicationtechnology.Enteringindustrialsociety,urbanexpansionhasprovidedanimpetusforthemovementofpeopletocity.Whilemoderntelecommunicationtechnologiesareconvenientforcontactingpeopleacross largedistances, thepossibilityofmaking friendswithstrangersexpands.UndertheeffectsofInternetusageonthecomputer,thispossibilityhasrisenimmea-surably.Peopletendtoestablish immediate-connectionand immediate-disconnectionrelationstorelievesocialpressurefromreality.Thus,avirtualsocialcirclethatcontendsagainstrealityhasemerged.ThearrivalofmobileInternethaschangedsocialrelationsagain.TheInternetintegratesthesefourfacetsintoawhole:multipleresponsestodifferentsocialrelations,voice

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callsandmessagesmaintainingstrongtiesinreality,socialnetworksexpandingsocialcapitaland location-basedservicesestablishingrandomrelations. In thisway, themobilephone istransformedfromasimpletelecommunicationstooltosocialcore. Thescopeandstabilityofthreemobile-mediatedrelationsaredifferent.Likeoceanwater,italsohasdifferentlayersandeachlayerhasdifferentstability.Therefore,thethreemobile-mediatedrelationscanbecomparedtothestabilityofwaterinthreepartsoftheocean.Seenintheimagebelow,waterinthecontinentalshelfnearbythecoastalregionflowsfastundertides,wavesandcurrents. It is just likerandomconnections inmobilerelations,whicharepronetochangeamongstrangersasakindof“speeddating”.Thereisacontinentalslopebe-tweenthecontinentalshelfandtheoceanfloor,whichbridgescontinentandocean.Theratesofflowtendtodecreaseasoceandepthincreases.Thiscanbeseenastheweaktiesofmobilerelations.Theyare formedundercontractualrelationshipsand linkuptotheoutsideworld.Theoceanfloorisinthedepthsoftheocean,wherethefloorisbasicallyunaffectedbytidesandcurrentsandquiteflatwhenwithoutgeologicalmovement,likestrongtiesinmobilerela-tions.

Source:Writer

Figure 5　Social Relations Constructed by Mobile Phone

Thereareplentyofresourcesinallpartsoftheoceanandtheyaredevelopedbydiffer-entinstruments─soitgoeswithmaintainingsocialrelations.AsshowninFigure6,therearecorrespondencesbetweensocialrelationsandmobilesocialapplications.Firstly,voicecallsandmessagescomplywithstrongrelations.Relationswithrelativesandclose friendsare funda-mental inmaintainingemotionalsustenanceand longtimestability.Consequently,closest toface-to-facecommunicationsarevoicecalls(89.58%),whichareatopmeanstocontactwithrel-atives,followedbySMS(83.71%)９.Secondly,socialnetworkscomplywithweakties.Ifstrong９ LiuDehuan,LiuXiangqing:NowISFuture,ChinaMachinePress,2012,P.52.

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relationsbetweenpeoplearetinyamountsof“blocks”withstableandcrisptexture,thenweakrelationsareplentyof “ties”with incoherentandunconsolidatedtexture.Weaktiesare thenecessarysupplementtothestrongties.Socialnetworksgivepeopletheabilitytoestablishre-lationswithotherswhohaveusefulresources.Whatismore,peoplecanusesocialnetworkstoincreasesocialheterogeneity.Finally,location-basedservices(LBS)relatetorandomrelations.LBSareusedformakingfriendswithstrangers.TakeWechat forexample. Ithasa“shake”functionthatallowsstrangers toconnectmeaning ifpeopleshaketheirmobilehandset, theLBSsystemwillautomaticallymatchotheruserswhotriggerthesamefunctionatthesameperiodoftime.Theycanstartconversationimmediatelyandwillbewithdrawnfromtheappli-cationwhentheyturnoffthefunction.Thisstyleofconnectionrefreshestheconceptof“friend”,whichalsoweakenstheemotionalstrengthand intimacy levelofarelationship. “Friend”de-scendstothesynonymofconnection.

Source:writer

Figure 6　Correspondences between Social Relations and Mobile Social Applications

4. Two trends: mediated sociality and ubiquitous sociality Themobilephoneisconsideredasthenearestmediatohumanbody,whichhasundoubt-edlychangedthetraditionalsocialcontactwithsomanyfunctionsaccordingtoabovediscus-sion.Meanwhile,ithelpstobringaboutnewdevelopmentaldirections.

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4.1 Multi-focus mediated sociality Communication isdivided into face-to-facecommunicationandmediatedcommunicationdependingonwhethercommunicatorsarephysicallypresent.Oncethe twocommunicatorsarenotinthesameplacetogether,theyshouldusemedialikeletters,phones,andtelegramstosharefeelingsandthoughts. Accordingto“RemedialMediumTheory”[17]byPaulLevinson(2004),anysucceedingme-diaremediesforthedeficienciesofpreviousmedia;thecommoncharacteristicofallindividualcommunicationmedia isaremedialmeasure to the limitson timeandspace in face-to-facecommunication.Lookingbackattheprogressofindividualmedia,thepostalsystemandlettersinitiallybrokethroughthespaceconstraints,butpeoplemusttoleratethehysteresisqualityofthemail.Thentelegramsmadeupforthetimehysteresis,butithadstrictlimitsonthelengthofinformation,thusbecomingdifficulttoexchangingemotioninsofewwords.Thetelephonenotonlyenabledtheinstantdispensationofinformationbutalsohadnolimitationsoncalltime,whichremediedshortcomingsofpreviousmedia.However,being fixed inaoneparticularplace,telephonescouldnotbecarriedfreely.Inaddition,privacyprotectionwasaconcernwithtelephones.Themobilephone,justasitsnameimplies,issomethingcarriedonaperson.Theycanreadilybebroughtanywhereandhavemanywaystoconveyinformationtofullyprotectusers’privacy. Inshort, themobilephone fulfillsacomprehensiveremedytodeficienciesofletters,telegrams,andtelephones.It includesaudio,textmessage,video,andpictures─manykindsofexpressions─thatallowforpeopletochoosebetweensynchronousinstantcommunica-tionandasynchronousdelayedcommunication.BesidestheadvantagesresultingfrommobileInternetandmoderncommunicationtechnology,mobile-mediatedcommunicationalsohasad-vantagesasfollows. Mediated communication is conducive to “impressionmanagement”.ErvingGoffman(1986)adoptstheatricalanalysistorevealthecharacteristicsofsocialinteraction[18].Thetheoryconcentratesontheskills thatpeopleusetocreate imagesand leave impressiononothers;it isalsoknownas “impressionmanagement theory”.Communicatorsalwayswant to leadandcontroltheimpressionsoftheotherpartyinordertogetthekindofreactionsthattheyplannedfor.Therearetwokindsofsymbolicactivities in impressionmanagement:givesex-pressionsandgives-offexpressions.Theformerreferstolinguisticsymbolismoritssubstitute.Theimplicatedinformationisuniversallyknownandispurposelyconveyed.Thelatterisnon-situational,non-verbal, andunintentional.Toavoidhavingone’sgives-offexpressionsbeingnoticedbyothers,onemustunderstandthesetwoexpressionsandpayattentiontohisorherbehaviorconstantly.Fromaculturalpointofview,ChinaandJapanarebothcountriesofhighcontextculture,incontrasttoUnitedStatesandGermany,whichareseenaslowcontextcul-tures.Relyingoncontext,semanticsinhighcontextculturesarederivedfromthepresupposednon-verbalcontext;thelanguageininteractioncontainsonlypartoftheinformationthatneedstobedelivered.Consequently,peoplegrowingupinhighcontextculturesareusuallyimplicit

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duringface-to-faceinteraction.Mediaisagoodprotectivescreenforthemtorepeatedlyrevisesoas tomakecommunicationsmoother.However, it isnotbeneficial forpeople to testandverifygives-offexpressionthatisbasedoncontext.Unconsciously,theyaccepttheimagethatpeopleontheothersideofthemediadesignandshapeintentionallyandelaborately. Unlike traditional one-to-one individual communicationmedia, themobilephonemakesone-to-many interactionspossible.Peoplecanstartconversations inmultiple socialapplica-tions,chattingwithmorethanonepersonatatime.Multi-focuscommunication issimilar tomultitasking.SherryTurkle (2011)analyzesmultitasking inherbook,Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other.Althoughmultitaskinghaspooroutcomes inpsychologicalresearch, itmakesus feelgood[19].Whenwehandleseveral tasksat thesametime,ourbodywouldrewardsmultitaskingwithneurochemicals that induceamultitasking“high”,whichmisleadsusintobelievingweareeffectiveandcreative.Multi-focusmediatedcommunicationproducesphysicalpleasure.Inpursuitofthiskindofsensationalplea-sure,humanstrytodealwithmorethingsatthesametime.Asaresult,itisnotuncommonphenomenonforpeopletousemobilephoneswhentheyareeating,walking,orevenwhileus-ingthetoilet.Peoplewhomultitaskbelievethattheygetmorethingsatonetime.Formulti-taskers, themobilephone fills thegapof “deadtime”whilewaitingandcommuting. In thisway,itseemsthatmulti-taskersgainmoreleisuretimeanddonotneedtokeeptheirattentionononecommunicator.Inarelaxingatmosphere,peoplecanconnectmoreeasilytofriendsandchoosesynchronousandasynchronouscommunication.Gradually,humanshavenotbeenac-customedtoface-to-facecommunicationwithasingleperson,whichrequiresustospendmoretimeandenergyoncomingupwithconversationtopicsanddecidingonameetingplaceandtime.Underthecollusionofphysicalpleasureandtechnology,peoplecannotlivewithoutmo-bilephones.Theyusemobilephonesregardlessoftimeandoccasions,whichdoesgreatdam-agetotraditionaletiquette.Butthisalsoformsnewsocialrules.InMeytowitz’s(1985)view,theintroductionandwidespreaduseofnewmediamayreconstructwide-rangingcontactingsceneandneednewactiontofitsocialscene[20].Duringface-to-facecommunication,theactionofonepersonusingamobilephoneisacceptedbytheother,althoughtheotherisbeingneglectedforsometime.Peoplehaveahightoleranceforbeinginterruptedbymobilephonesinmeetings.However,ErvingGoffmaninsiststhatone’sattentionawayfromtheconversationwillthreatentheessenceofcommunication,causingthesituationto“collapse,disintegrate,goupinsmoke”[21].Peopleinmulti-focuscommunicationalwaysturnonthe“pausekey”andsupposetheotheriswithdrawingfromthesocialscenetemporarily.One-sidedexchangeleadstoanasymmetricalinteraction,whichdecreasesthecommunicationvalueandinteractionquality. Despitehavingmultiplechoicesonhowtousemobilephones,weareshapingourselvesinaworldwheresuccessismeasuredbyquickrepliestoe-mails,calls,andmessages.Themobilephonecreatesacultureofmulti-forms,high-capacity,andhigh-rate interactivity,whichcutsdowntherateofinterferenceinourthoughtprocesses.Wearetherespondersofquestionsand

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meanwhiletheproposersofquestions.Wearedealingwithothers’questionswhilealsopropos-ingquestionstoothersandwishingtheycanrespondquickly.Peopleareshapedbytechnologywhentheyarechoosingtouseit.Ourconstantconnectingtothemobilephonebringstolightthefactthatwehavebecomeapartofthemobilephone.Inelectronicmediatimes,McLuhanputs forwardthe judgmentthat “media is theextensionofhumanbody”,clearlyelaboratingthathumansareintheleadingpositionintheirrelationshipwithmedia.CarryingonMcLuhan’sthoughts,Levinson(2004)proposesthe“humanizationtrendofmediaevolution”,whichgivesprominencetosubjective initiative inmediaevolution. Inhisopinion, technologies imitateorevencopysensemodelsandcognitivemodelsofhumans’duringtheirdevelopmentandevolu-tion.Inthetimesofdigitalmedia,asanincidentalmedia,theconstantstateofbeingconnectedturnedtherelationofhumansandmediaonitshead.Thatis,humanshavebecometheexten-sionofmedia.Thishumanizationofmediareversestothemechanizationofhumans.Whenweobjectifyotherpeopleandseethemastasksthatneedtobecompletedandthusdisposedof,wearebecomingthemachinethatspecializeinresponding.Ifthehumanizationofmediaraisesthestatusofmedia,thenthematerializationofhumansreducesthestatusofhumans.AsPas-cal’s (BlaisePascal,1623-1662)wellknownsayinggoes: “Ahumanbeing isonlyareed, theweakest innature,butheisathinkingreed”[22].Nevertheless, inthetimeofmobile-mediatedinteraction,wearebusyconnectingbutmissingoutontheattentionofotherhumans;weareswampedwithrespondingbuthavenotimetothink.Formerly,peoplemettoworkoffloneli-ness;now,peoplechoosetobealoneinordertogettogether.Insomesense,amediatedtogeth-erness is thepremiseofphysicallybeingalone.Thus,withmobile-mediatedcommunication,peoplehavebecomereducedtomerelyanisolatedreedshakinginthewind.

4.2 From pan-sociality to ubiquitous sociality Pan-socialityreferstotheextensiveandfrequent formationofrelationshipswithstrang-ers.Fromvoicecallsandshortmessagestoinstantmessages,mobilesocialityhasexperiencedchanges fromstrong ties torandomrelations.Mobilesocialapplicationsmakesociality intosomethingthatcanbeobtained liketimeconfettiaftergettingup,duringcommuting,whileeatinglunch,andbeforesleeping.Itrewritesthetraditionalsocialitythatusedtodemandlotsoftimeandenergyintosomethingsuperficialandpiecemeal.Positivelyspeaking,thescopeofman’ssocialityhasbeenbroadened.However,thedepthofsocialityisfarfromenough.Therenowappearstobeautilitariantendencyinvolvedinwhatseemslikefast-foodstylesocialcom-munication.Accordingtothedegreeofstrangeness,pan-socialityisclassifiedintotwoformsasfollows.

4.2.1 Partly strange relationship: the cast net approach Apartly-strangerelationshipinvolvesmakingfriendsonsocialnetworksbyfollowingce-lebritiesorthosewhohavespecialskillsorabilities.Inreallife,asuccessfulsocialconnection

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istheprocessoftwopartiesprovidingandexchangingresourcestoeachother.Therefore,itisnecessaryforbothsidestohaveresourcesthatsatisfytheother.Iftheirresourcesdiffergreat-lyinusefulness,theycannotalwaysestablishaneffectiverelationshipbecauseonepartyfailstoreceiverewardtotheirexpectations.Forexample,insocialnetworks,thenumberofpeoplethatcelebrities follow is far less thantheirownnumberof followers;bycontrast,ordinarypeoplealwaysfollowmorepeoplethantheyhavefollowers.Thereisanasymmetricalrelationoffollowingandfollowedbetweenacelebrityandanordinaryperson.Consequently,thehopesofanordinarypersontrulymakingfriendswithacelebrityviasocialnetworkarefutile.Thedepressingresultleadsordinarypeopletofollowmorecelebritiestoimprovetheirchancesofgettingusefulsocialcapital.Thiscastnetapproachisincapableofaccomplishingtimelyandef-ficientfeedback,furtherdampeningtheappealofsocialcontactwithstrangersinreallife.

4.2.2 Fully-strange relationship: random sociality being stung with desire The fully-strangerelationship involvestwopartiesdonotknoweachotherandhavenospecialconnections,establishingarelationshipthroughthelocation-basedservicesofsocialap-plicationswhosemissionistoconnectstrangers.Becomingfriendswithstrangersinananony-mousstyleatmosphereoriginatedfirstlywiththelandlinetelephone,andthenflourishedtoPCnetworks,andfinallyspreadtomobilesocialnetworks.Undertheumbrellaofmedia,thereisnoneedtoworryaboutbeingdirectlyexposedtostrangers,whichhelpssteerpeopleclearofdanger,andthereisalsononeedtoworryaboutbeingjudgedbasedonexternalfactors,suchasappearanceandstatus,whichcanbeconcealed in thevirtualspaceofmobilesocialnet-works.Therefore,itiseasyforcommunicatorstoshowtheir“trueself”andestablishintimateassociationwithstrangers;hence, Internethasbecomethenewdatingplatform. InAprilof1998,Fujitelevisionbroadcastedadrama,“With Love”,depictingamanandawomanstartinganonlineromancebecauseofanemailsenttoawrongaddress.Owingtothecharacteristicsoflandlineandcomputer,itwashardtoobtaintheother’sexactaddress,unlessonehadtheap-propriatetechnology,thustwopartiescouldmaintainarelationshipalongthelinesoffamiliar-itybutnottruecontactorknowledgeoftheotherperson,whereas,LBSinmobilesocialappli-cationsprovidethelocationofotheruser’swithin100meters.Thus,communicatingonmediainthiswaybecamereality.Ifanideasuchasthiscanbeeasilyrealized,peoplewillbemorewillingtoparticipate.Forexample,apopularmaking-friend–with-strangers’applicationonmo-bilephonesinChina,calledMomoisusedtobecomeacquaintedwithpeoplenearbythroughsendingtextandvoicemessages,pictures,andexactgeographicallocation.ThissocialmodelismeanttosearchforandpositionstrangersneareachotherbyGPS,makingconnectionsquicklytosaveoncostsofdistance.However,althoughitshortensthetimeittakestocommunicationonlineandthenmeetsoffline,itfailstocutthecostsofknowingeachother.Therelationshipthatisinformedthenbecomesoneofphysicalcontactandknowledgeoftheotherpersonbutnotoneoftruefamiliarity.Duetoalackoftrust,peoplerepeatedlyforgeandbreaklinkswith

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strangers,losingthesocialwarmthofnormalinteraction,whichacceleratesthetrendofindif-ferenceaffectionbetweentwopeople.Fully-strangerelationshipscauseaseriesofsocialdilem-mas.Inrecentyears,forexample,Chinesemediahavefrequentlyreportedethicalissueslikeextramaritalaffairs,sextraffickingandquiteafewrobberiesinstigatedbytheuseofmobiledatingapplications. Pan-socialitycausedbymobilephonesresultsinharmfuleffectstointerpersonalrelation-ships,familylife,andevensocialstability.Oneofthesolutionstotheseproblemsisubiquitoussociality.Ubiquitymeansthatsomething isomnipresentandwidespread.Ubiquitoussocialitypointstomobilesocialityexistingineveryaspectofpeople’slives.Mobilesocialityisnotonlyanactivityformaintainingrelationshipsandconveyingemotionsbutisalsoalifestylethatwehavebecomequiteusedto.Socialelementsarepermeatingshopping,diningtogether,traveling,andwork,makinglifemucheasier.Personallifefitsintogroups,transformingwhatusedtobeanonlinerelationshipwithastrangertoanoffline,familiarrelationshipthroughcooperatingtofinishspecialtasksorsolvingdifficulties inreal life.Ubiquitoussocialityhelpsausertocom-promisestrongrelations,weakrelationsandrandomrelations.Specificallyspeaking,iftheuserneedssomeonetoaccompanyorcooperatetodosomethingindailylife,heorshecanfindtherightpeopleeasily.Sinceubiquitoussocialitypullstogetheralmostusers’allsocialrelationships,includingexistingrelationsandpotentialrelations,thedesignofthiskindofmobileapplicationscanrefertotheacquaintances’socialapplicationsorstrangers’socialapplications.Theformerisnotgoodforweakrelationsandrandomrelationsbecauseofstrongclosureandexclusive-ness. Instead, the latter istotallyopen.Therefore, it iseasiertobuildubiquitoussocialitybyimprovingstrangers’socialapplications. Accordingtothesurveyof iiMediaResearch“ChineseStrangers’SocialApplicationsontheFirstHalfYearof2015”10, thisstudywillmakethreesuggestions forthedesignofubiq-uitoussocialapplications.The firstsuggestion is tostrengthenthetechnical innovationandimprovematchingaccuracy.Theapplicationshouldtakeconsiderationintoallaspectsofusers’lifetodesignmatchingalgorithmanddatamodel,suchasusers’location,livinghabits,hobbies,recordingspostedonsocialapplication,andsoon.Basedonthesedata, theapplicationcouldrecommendmanyfriendscongenial tousers.Thentheycangetdeeperunderstandingabouteachotherthoughchattingorcreativegames.Thesurveyshowsthat48.2%respondentsareapttogettoknowpeoplewhoarenearby.Therefore,searchingbasedonlocationisthemostefficiententryofubiquitoussocialapplication.Ifusersareinthesameplace,suchasstudentsinthesameuniversityorofficeworkersinonecompany,theirvirtualonlinerelationsaremorelikelytransformedintorealofflinerelations.

10 iiMediaResearch,aplatformofreleasingglobaldataofmobileInternet,wasfoundedin2007. iiMediaResearch:ChineseStrangers’SocialApplicationson theFirstHalfYearof2015,2015-08-15,

http://www.iimedia.cn/39428.html

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Second, it isvital toorganizeabundantactivitiesandpromoterelations transformation.74.7%respondentsreport that theywould liketoparticipate inofflineactivities.Mostusersofstrangers’socialapplicationsarenotsatisfiedwithonlinerelationsandexpecttotakepartinofflineactivitiesinordertoincreasesocialcapital.However,safetyandtrustproblemsarebarrierswhenstrangersmeetoffline.Thirdly, integratingacquaintances’ social relations tostrangers’socialrelationswillbeabetterwaytosolvethetwoquestions.Askedabouttheex-pectationsofnewfunctionsofstrangers’socialapplications,67.9%respondentshopethatsocialapplications integratestrangers intoacquaintancescircles.Forthevastmajorityofpeople, iftheyhavefriendsorfamiliestoaccompany,theywillberelievedtogetinvolvedinactivities.Besides,italsoplaysaroleforsecuritywhensettingtheminimumnumberofactivities.

Source:http://www.iimedia.cn/39428.html

Source:http://www.iimedia.cn/39428.html

Figure 7　Distance Preference of Chinese Users to Get to Know Others on the First Half of Year 2015

Figure 8　Expectations of New Functions in Strangers’ Social Applications on the First of Year 2015

Thewell-knownsocialnetworkinJapan,Mixi,whichrequiresanexclusiveinvitation,de-servestobeadoptedbyothersocialapplicationsasareference.Morespecifically,aregisteredmemberhastherighttoinvitehisorherfriends,classmates,colleagues,orneighborstojoinin

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variousgroupsthatcombinedifferentkindsofonlinediscussionandreallifecommunications,pushingforwardthetransformationfromweaktiestostrongtiesduringmediacommunicationandface-to-faceinteraction. ClayShirky(2008)supportstheideathatsocialabilityisoneofthecorecapabilitiesofhu-manbeings’.Societyistheproductofbothindividualmembersandconstituentgroups;asheputsit:“thedesiretobepartofagroupthatshares,cooperates,oractsinconcertisabasichuman instinct thathasalwaysbeenconstrainedbytransactioncosts”[23].Thesocialapplica-tionsonmobilephonesareplatformsforcoordinationbecausetheyshare informationtocuttransactioncosts.Inotherwords,group-forminghasgonefromhardandcomplicatedtoeasyandsimple.TakegoingoutinChina,forexample:thedevelopmentofurbanizationleadstoasharpincreaseofprivatecars,causingincreasinglyheavytrafficjamsandaddingdifficultiestogoingout.Quiteafewcarshaveonlyonedriver─andnopassengers─meaningthesecarsarenotbeingutilizedtotheirfullcapacity.Someofthesedriverswanttocarpoolwithotherswhohavenocarinordertoshareandsaveongas.Butthiskindofcarpoolingpredominantlyhap-pensbetweenfriendsoramongotherfamiliarpeoplebecauseitisdifficulttocoordinatewithstrangersaheadoftime.Inotherwords,carpoolingoccurringamongstrangersisrareduetoalackofsocialplatformforsuchathing.Still,wecannottakefulladvantagesofprivatecarsandthereisstillagreatdealoftroubleforpeoplewhowanttogoout.Therefore,informationandcommunicationarethekeystomeetingbothsides’demands.“Micro-Carpooling”─thefirstmobileapplicationofChinadevotedtosolvethisproblem─isbasedonLBSandIMandcom-binestheconvenienceoftransportationwithrealsociality.Peoplecansendinformationabouton-andoff-dutymodesoftransportation,tourismtravel,andhome-returningtravelonfestivalsandholidays,whilewaitingforotherstoconnecttotheapplication.Italsooffersasearchen-ginetofindpeoplenearbywhowanttocarpool.Inthisway,itsolvesthegoing-outproblemtoacertainextent.Whatismore,theplatformwouldtakestrictstepstoverifytheinformationofcars,driversandhitchhikersinordertoensurebothsides’safety.Underthiskindofprotection,peoplecanbeateasewhentheywanttogetaliftandinteractwithacquaintances,achievingastableand lastingrelationship.AsaCustomertoCustomer (C2C)sharingeconomymodel,disintermediatedsocialgoing-outsolutionoverturnsthetraditionalB2C(BusinesstoCustomer)travelingmarket, transformingtherelationshipbetweendriverandpassenger fromagency-clienttofriendship. Overall,inaubiquitoussocialcircle,peopledonotestablishrelationshipsrandomlydrivenbydesirebutjoininagroupandincreaseinteractionwithinthesamecommunity.Importantly,thiskindofsocialityaimsatsolvingproblemsinreal life,whichdecreasesthe“prisoners’di-lemma”thatresultfromafully-strangesocialityandhelpstoproduceaneffectivesocialcapital.Humanbeingsareasocialcommunity.Althoughthemodern-lifestyleischanging,theeager-nesstocommunicatewithothershasalwaysbeentheabsolute,necessarypartofourdailylife.

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5. Conclusion and Discussion Prior to landline telephones,peoplecommunicatedwithotherswhowerenotphysicallypresentwiththemasynchronously.Thoughlandlinetelephonesmadeupforthepreviousdelayof informationandemotionaldistress,humanwerestill tiedtoaphysicalspace.Themobil-ityandportabilityofmobilephones,however,allowpeopletocommunicate instantly.Mobilephonesnotonlysatisfyhuman’sdesiretokeepintouchandtalkwithothersatanytimeandanywhere,butitalsowidensthescopeofsocialinteractionbeyondjustastrongtiesandweaktiescircle.Withthedevelopmentofmobiletechnology,fromsingulartocomprehensive,one-to-onetoone-to-many,synchronoustoasynchronous,themobilephoneprovidesmultiplechoicesinsending informationsendingandemotionalexpression.Thestyleconstructedbymobilephoneshascreatedoralcommunicationwithvoicecalls,charactercommunicationbasedonshorttextmessagesanddouble-negationface-to-facecommunicationbasedoninstantmessagesthatintegratesvoice,text,pictureandvideointooneapplication.Fromtheevolutionofmobilephones,thehumanizationtrendistheresultofrationalchoice.Withthefreedomtochoosebe-tweenvisualconcealmentandpresentationandasynchronousdelayandinstantsynchronicity,self-shapingandself-disclosuremakethecommunicationeasierandsmoother.Alloftheabovepointshavebeenalwaysmentionedbypeoplewhoholdpositiveattitudestowardthemobilesociality.However,itisworthwhiletonotethatourtimeandenergyusedonsocialcontactislimited.There isareciprocalrelationshipbetweenmediatedcommunicationand face-to-facecommunication.Usingmobilemediatoomuchisguaranteedtobringforthnegativeimpactsonface-to-facecommunication.Peoplewillforgetorlosetheskillsandabilitiestocommunicateinperson.However,inreality,peoplestillhavetocomeintodirectcontactwithrealpeopleandthusimproviseintheircommunicationeveryday.Thiskindofcommunicationcannotprovidemultiplechoicesforresponderslikemobilemediacan.Howwillpeoplewhoareusedtocom-municationbymobilephonesdealwithsuchsituations?For instance,whenfacedwitha jobinterview,itispossibleforcandidatestofirstprepareonphone,edittheirresponses,andthensendtheiranswersdirectlytotheinterviewer?Clearly,thisisimpossible.Today,thepaceoflifeissofastwithtechnologicaladvancementthatmediatedcommunicationisinevitable.Thatistosay,face-to-facecommunicationisthefoundationofoursociety,butmediatedcommunica-tion isbecomingmoremainstream.Howshouldwecreateabettercombinationof thetwotypesofcommunications?Thispaperholdstheviewthatubiquitoussociality─joininginmobilegroupstosolvespecificproblemsinreallifethroughonlinecoordinationandofflinecooperation─isoneoftheeffectivesolutions.Thissolutionactsasabridgebetweenthevirtualworldandreality.Furthermore,beingamemberinagroupalsoreducestheriskofdangerwhencomingintocontactwithstrangers.Ubiquitoussocialityonmobilephoneintegratesaccuracyofmatch-ing, richnessofofflineactivitiesandacquaintance-stranger intoacoherentwhole.Andtheadventofthiskindofsocialapplicationsolvesexistingmobilephonesocialproblemsproperly.

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Therefore,thisstudyhasachievedresearchpurposes.Withtheaidofubiquitoussocialappli-cations,humanbeingswillcreategreatlifeinhealthyandreasonablesocialactivities.Duringtheentireprocessofcreatingaubiquitoussociality,wehaveputbothmediaandsocialityintorightfulpositions:mobilephoneshelptoorganizeandcoordinateandreturnsocialitytothereallife.

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Social Culture of Mobile Phones: A Case Study of China and...

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