Mind, Self and Society after the Mobile Divide

This timely book examines how mobile communication has reshaped how people perceive themselves and others, and how this changes relationships between individuals and society. Ilpo Koskinen studies these changes through George Herbert Mead’s theory of the mind, using it as a framework to illustrate the divide between the historical and contemporary landscape of communication technology.Chapters explore how mobile multimedia has merged with the internet, and how this has changed society. The book analyses mobile communication in an era of generative AI, investigating how we present ourselves to others, how mobile communication affects interpersonal relationships, and whether we can trust what we see. Adopting a public sociological approach, Koskinen debates viewpoints expressed in mobile multimedia, highlighting the alarmism regarding online communication and how it is seen as a root cause of many societal ills.Mind, Self and Society after the Mobile Divide’s innovative analyses, grounded in classical sociology, are an essential read for scholars and students of communication studies, sociology and political science. It is also a beneficial resource for policymakers and practitioners in innovation and technology.