Cell Phone: Communication tool or a Fashion Statement

Have a look at your cell phone, is it new and shiny or beat up and ready for disposal. I watched a commercial this week (most likely for Rogers) in which they compared cell phones to being in love. Stating that when you first buy it it becomes your shiny new love that you brag about to your friends and flaunt in public but as time goes by that love fads into embarrassment and a need for change. The sad thing is that feeling is a reality for many. Cell phones as a communication tool takes a back seat to style, it becomes an identifier of status. The cell phone market demands turn over of product and constant upgrading to keep up with the times so that you are not left behind. Very little changes in the actual quality or use of the device but rather the look of it, just like, lets say, pants over the last 100 years. It is not just ads on TV that portray this desire to be ahead of fashion but it has been socially constructed into our way of purchasing. A few weeks ago I overheard a conversation on the bus between to young girls in which one was making fun of the other because of her new flip phone. "flips are so out, its all about the sliders now" she says. As the one girl accepts her mistake, I diverted my attention elsewhere and slip my flip phone discreetly into my pocket. Overall I think what ones particular use of the device will depict which phone to buy but just like clothing, cell phones in some sense make a statement about yourself. You have the ability to individualize your phone such as face plates, ringtones, wall paper but are limited in what the market defines as new and cutting edge. Whether we like it or not, that top of the line phone you get free for signing up for a 3 year contract will label you out of touch with technology within 6 months...