Using the Circuit of Culture to Study Smartphones

 
Du Gay et al., (1997) discuss how culture has gained increasing centrality in modern society, politically, socially, economically and academically. They also introduce the circuit of culture which consists of five major cultural processes: representation, identity, production, consumption and regulation. These elements overlap and intertwine in complex ways and serve as the basis by which cultural artefacts can be analyzed and studied.

 

Representation: how symbols are used to create a meaningful concept

Identity: how it produces individual/group identity

Production: how does the product come to be

Consumption: what meaning do people give to it when they use it

Regulation: influences how the product exists in society

A smartphone is a mobile phone taken to a whole new level which has more advanced computing capability and connectivity than a regular mobile phone. Examples of smartphones include Apple's iPhone, RIM's Blackberry, Google's Android etc.

Smartphones are advertised in a way to show that they represent a lifestyle. Windows has recently used celebrities Gwen Stefani and Jessica Alba to advertise the new Phone 8 and point out that this phone is perfect for those with active and important daily lives.  These phones are also expensive and represent someone who has an elite status.

These same advertisements show that the Smartphones can be individualized to one's needs and therefore represent personal identity. For Gwen Stefani in the above advertisement, the Phone 8 provides her with a tool to help her with clothing design and writing while on the road. Whereas for Jessica Alba, the phone is used as entertainment for her daughter. Each Smartphone can be personalized to unique needs.

The companies which produce these phones have different stories of how they came to be. These companies design Smartphones for an imagined customer and then modify them based on consumer feedback. For example, Apple has released the iPhone4,iPhone4S and iPhone5 within two years and has promised improvement with each phone.

When people use their Smartphones, they feel satisfied and empowered since they are able to do so much with one device. They can browse the internet, find directions, upload videos, take pictures, listen to music, make phone calls, text message, e-mail and so much more with their phones. As Smartphones have become more and more popular there is an increased pressure put on consumers to buy the latest and most highly technical phone. People turn their noses up to regular mobile phones. Also with the increasing demands for Smartphones, landlines have become more obsolete since they do not offer all that a Smartphone can.

The importance of regulation of Smartphones can be seen in the recent lawsuit of Apple vs.Samsung. The various Smartphone companies are always trying to one up their rivaling companies. In doing so, they sometimes infringe upon patents which leads to lawsuits.