Commodification of Phones
Before Alexander Graham Bell invented telephone, no one would ever think of having a direct conversation over long distances; communication over long distances was problematic although the Morse code and telegraph existed back in time. With the invention of telephone, this useful device had created convenience to everyone; long distance communication was no longer a problem. As time passed by, telephone was further developed, and then the mobile phone was created and today, smartphone has monopolized the market. In the past, the only purpose of using phones was to overcome the problem of long distance communication. However in this day and age, it is plausible to say that smartphone is also a form of commodity produced by the culture industry. No doubt, the number of mobile phones users has increased by time. Mobile phones were once only possessed by the rich people, but now could be found possessed by any class in the society. Such culture has created by the culture industries, to ‘[ensure] that the working class has been thoroughly incorporated into the system’ through ‘the affluence and consumerism produced by the economies of capitalist societies’. (p. 54). Furthermore, with the convergence of internet and the mushrooming number of mobile phone users, these have enabled more formations of big telecommunication companies such as Digi, Maxis and Celcom to provide an internet data plan for the users. It is indeed a solid evidence of commodity fetishism, ‘a theory of how cultural forms…can secure the continuing economic, political and ideological domination of capitalism.’ (p. 50) Mobile phone is one of the examples of ‘cultural commodities which are produced for the market, and are aimed at market’. (p. 52) They are further innovated to smartphones, because people nowadays want to use mobile phones more than just to call or text a person. They want their phone to be a compressed mixture form of television, radio, video games and camera; smartphones are not