Friday, September 19, 2008
Cellphones
We hear about issues of cellphone overuse: poor driving, lack of etiquette, interruption of co-present interactions, cellphone addiction. But what about the low level of service that is available in the United States? Before SMS was even available through my carrier I was using websites to send text messages to friends in Europe. They received the messages without a charge. Yet even now that SMS is popular in the States, we pay for incoming texts. With AT&T I even pay for the minutes used to listen to my own voicemail.
This fee-based receipt of messages creates another level of etiquette. Is it more polite to call someone, subjecting those around you to your conversation, or to send a text that will automatically force the receiver into paying for it?
Alternative media outlets and public information networks in developing nations use SMS to send out news to people who don’t have computer or email access but have a high level of mobile phone ownership. There are many areas in the States where local media could use such a service. However, with carriers charging for incoming texts the potential for this method of communication becomes limited.
