Conclusions

This chapter draws conclusions based on empirical evidence concerning the why, how, and effects of mobile news consumption. A new type of news consumer emerges—one who prefers to seek news over the phone rather than the PC, who tends to engage with the news, and who learns something about currents affairs from it. The increased consumption of news via the mobile phone reveals a process in which Asia’s civically motivated young generations seek to be informed. Our findings offer insights into the debate over technological determinism in that technological innovations matter in early stages of a technology’s diffusion. However, as the technology matures and its use becomes routinized, it is increasingly subject to societal constraints and impositions of political power. Consumption of mobile news among college students in the four studied Asian cities represents an illuminating case of social shaping of technology.