Evolving mobile media: Changing technology and transforming behavior

Abstract

Historians have long warned us that any prediction about the future, including the future of communication technology, is a risky business. However, adoption of mobile telephony seems to be an exception. The predictions were wrong, just in a different way— worldwide adoption of mobile phones went much faster than expected rather than more slowly. It is now proverbial to characterize mobile phones and devices as the fastest-diffused technology in human history. In my essay for the inaugural issue of Mobile Media & Communication (Wei, 2013), I described mobile media spearheaded by the smartphone as coming of age with a big splash. By that I meant that widespread adoption and novel uses of mobile media were unlike any other media technology. Looking back, the splash became a tsunami. In 2021, mobile users worldwide topped seven billion, accounting for 91.54% of the world’s population. In fact, Earth has more mobile phones and devices than people.