Should Mobile Phones be Considered a “Mass Media”?
I recently read an interesting post on the blogsite, “WebTVWire” entitled, “Mobile Mass Media: The Grassroots of the Mobile Phone Grassroots Technological Revolution”. In the article, they assert that mobile phones are now considered a viable seventh form of mass media.
In an interesting journey through the history of mass media that is presented in the piece, the seven media environments that are identified include:
1. Print
2. (Audio) Recording
3. Cinema
4. Radio
5. Television
6. Internet
7. Mobile Phones
Frankly, I was a little surprised with number seven. Each of the first six mediums listed presented completely new and innovative ways to communicate information in their day. While mobile phones have certainly become much more than a simple device for making phone calls, the type of content that is presented on a mobile phone is based on one of the other six forms of media. For example:
1. SMS Text Messaging is a form of printed communications
2. MP3 music is a form of audio recording
3. Digital movies can be viewed on them.
4. Podcasts (digitally recorded radio broadcasts) can be played on them.
5. Television programs can either be viewed live or via digitally recorded downloads.
6. The internet can be accessed using the wireless network.
So my question is: What is the compelling, unique form of information that mobile phones are providing? Is it simply their wireless format? Is connectivity equivalent to information content in justifiably labeling mobile devices as a “mass media”? Does it rise to the same level as television, print, cinema, or the Internet?
In my humble opinion, no. Media is defined as content, not connectivity. Until mobile phones can provide a unique form of information content that the other six forms of mass media cannot replicate, then I can’t consider it as a viable seventh form of mass media.
What do you think?
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