Personal, Portable, Pedestrian - a review

History repeats itself again as the trend shifts from function to fashion. In Personal, Portable, Pedestrian, a compilation of essays edited by Mizuko Ito, Daisuke Okabe, and Misa Matsuda, the never ending saga of youth taking technology by the reins and changing its function from business to pleasure is reiterated over and over again. From chapter to chapter the same thoughts resonate. It all started as a business tool hijacked by the youth of a nation then developed into a new social and political morality. This is no different than any other form of communication tools from the past. It’s just another reason to write a paper! The pocket protector came first as the pen was handed down to the public! Is it really about this specific technology or is it about the exponential rate of growth in general that humans have made over the past couple hundred years? It’s not even about the rate of growth in Japan vs. any other developed country, the technology may be different (USA PC vs. Japan Keitai) but the outcome is the same. Kids in the USA are to Internet via PC and Web Phone as kids in Japan are to Internet via pager and Keitai.

As far back as recorded history, man has tried to limit the use of tools to a specifically trained group of individuals. Blacksmiths used fire and steel, sculptors used hammer and chisel and writers and painters used pens, brushes and a specific cannon established by the ruling powers. The Renaissance brought the idea of creative use to new heights as science and art were encouraged at least amongst the elite. Now, every kindergartner in public school in the USA gets a 64 pack of crayons, a block of clay, and access to the Internet.To be creative has been particularly encouraged in the more developed countries as a way to be competitive in the global economy, so, how can we be surprised that the youth would use a tool in a way not necessarily intended? I’ve used a butter knife to hang a door!

As I read the book, I made notations in the margin of my thoughts and ideas sparked by the text only to find the same thing I wrote in the margins in the next essay or two to three essays into the book. It only solidified ideas I had based on being a parent with teenagers with cell phones and not on any scholarly information. We all know women talk more than men! It is engrained from the time we are young that men should be strong and that means silent.

There is something I did not read about in this book…has anyone considered the impact this has on the male psyche as they continue to grow in numbers of people using Keitai or other forms of communication? From a psychological standpoint this seems to be of greater importance than whether or not you decorate your phone with stickers or text during dinner.

As a mother and observant human, I see men and boys in particular opening up more to their friends and family based on their ability to speak without being seen. Its almost like the old adage “children should be seen and not heard" has reversed itself with the onset of mass personal communication. The anonymity that one gets in conversing via text message somehow allows for a more liberal view of boys and men being allowed to express themselves in a more traditionally feminine manner…i.e. “ I feel___.”

Most patriarchal societies have at least an unspoken rule about male communication and that is where much of the gender issues were addressed in this book. The fact that the mobile communication was based on business and business was for so long a man’s world crosses many geographic boundaries. The idea that only housewives and children would use this tool in an “inappropriate” manner just points out this inherent problem in many societies to determine communication and feelings as inappropriate.

As I see it, the focus should be less on the proliferation of the technology (we know its growing exponentially) and less on how it’s being used (everyone wants a companion or a date) and should look more deeply into the paradigm shift based on gender and social infrastructures. I think this book uses the words social and culture to frame a very quantitative perspective of phenomena using numbers rather than as a qualifying term to discern actual temporal changes in psychosocial dynamics.