Paper short abstract:

This paper explores an evolving definition of ritual, based on the significance and pervasiveness of mobile telephone use in our everyday lives.

Paper long abstract:

We witness these scenes increasingly in everyday life: A person is walking past other pedestrians on a moderately crowded street. He or she is bent over the screen of a mobile phone. Occasionally this person glances up to avoid running into another person, but for the most part, he or she is focused on a small, handheld screen. Similarly, all of us have seen a group of people at a restaurant who are waiting for their food to appear. Not one of them is engaged in face-to-face communication. Instead, each person is staring intently at a mobile phone.

Wherever we may be and whatever we are doing, chances are we will either be using a mobile phone or will be witnessing someone near us who is speaking, texting, photographing something, making a video, or turning the phone inward to compose a selfie.

This paper explores an evolving definition of ritual that is based on the pervasiveness of mobile telephones in our daily lives. Within this exploration, a few concepts emerge: The physical presence of the mobile phone is so pervasive that the object itself has become a totem that plays an important part in courtship, in the evaluation of social status, and in engagement with one's physical and cultural environment. Further, the increased reliance of the mobile phone has allowed for the emergence of gestures, greetings, and expressions that reflect the mobile-phone's ubiquitous presence as well as its apparent "disconnect" with real time and actual place.