The social meaning of consumption in a globalised world: youth, mobile phones and social identity in China and India A dissertation submitted by candidate 75777 to the Department of Anthropology, the London School of Economics and Political Science, in part completion of the requirements for the MSc China in Comparative Perspective. September 2009 Word count: 9986
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4.2. Status ............................................................................................................................................. 19
Part I: Towards a theoretical framework for mobile phone consumption and youth
social identity
1. Introduction to the research question, structure and methodology
During March 2009, as a part of my internship with a market research company, I was
interviewing young people from different countries around the world, trying to gain insight into youth
consumption patterns, values and trends1. ‘I would get a new mobile phone’. That was the answer that
four teenagers, each one from different corners of the world: a Chinese, an Indian, a Spaniard and a
Britton, gave me when asked what would they buy if they had ₤1002
to spend freely. These identical
answers could be used as the perfect example to illustrate the concept of ‘global youth consuming
practices’ (Lukose, 2005:915). For marketing professionals, young people have become the best index
to measure the impact of globalisation: a homogenized consumer segment that wears the same jeans,
drink the same soft drinks and listen to similar music, no matter whether they are Asian, European or
American. However, when I, attempting to learn more about their purchasing drivers, asked why did
they want a new phone, they put forward different reasons. The Chinese girl said she wanted a ‘girly’
phone, the Indian boy explained to me that all his friends had cooler handsets and he did not want to
be left behind and be less modern, whereas a boy from London was dreaming to buy a mobile with
Internet access.
Even if the act of consumption would be the same, the acquisition of a new mobile phone, in
this case the meaning of the purchase varies and the phone is viewed, not only as a communication
device, but as a tool for reaffirming gender identities, pursuing status or embracing modernity. From
an anthropological perspective (Miller, 1987; Appadurai, 1994; Latham et al., 2006), consumption
goes beyond the simple fact of purchasing goods and it is used by consumers to construct identities
and relations through it (Croll, 2006:45). As stated by Latham (ibid:11) consumption needs to be
considered within its social context, paying attention to established values, practices and rules, which
shape the way goods are used by consumers to represent the self and define social affiliations. This
theory thus, challenges the idea of a global consumer culture with homogenised consumer segments
and practices (Levitt, 1983), by arguing that those consumption practices are crafted by the local
frameworks in which they take place (Watson, 1997).
The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the social meaning of consumption on
converging consumer behaviour, striving to determine whether the consumption meanings behind
these practices are also becoming more homogenous or if they cannot be separated from their
particular cultural context. This paper aims to gain a better understanding on how consumers express
1
C:Insights, Glocal Youth 2009: global aspirations, local inspirations,, March-June 2009, London (unpublished)2 The questionnaire was tailored to each region, and the question was formulated using the equivalent in localcurrency to ₤100, considering the cost of living index for each country.
and define social identities through consumption behaviours. In order to do so, I intend to focus on
youth consumers, seen by many as the emblem of a global consumer segment (Hassan and Katsanis,
1991; Tully, 1994, Moses, 2000). Youth as consumers present a rich and wide variety of scenarios to
look at, from music and fast food to fashion and technological gadgets. A comprehensive study is
beyond the limits of this paper, so instead I will specifically concentrate on mobile phones, one of the
most important artefacts used by youth across different countries as a form of expression (Silverstone,
1999, Ling, 2004; Castells et al., 2007).
Chinese youth constitutes one of the largest markets of the world for mobile phones, with over
240 million subscribers under 30 years old (Mobile Youth, 2009). Mobile phones have emerged as
symbols of China’s consumer revolution, becoming an essential commodity and having a ubiquitous
role in the growing retail landscape of a country that has gone from a state-planned society to a market
economy (Davis, 2000). If there is any country in the world that has experienced developmentcomparable to that of China, is without doubt, India. These two countries share some features of
special interest for the purpose of this dissertation. The term ‘consumer revolution’ has also been
widely used to depict the rise of consumption in India (Jaffrelot and Van der Veer, 2008). As in China,
the new consumerism orientation in India since the economic reforms during the 1980’s entails a
social meaning, a way of embracing modernity and an opportunity to break up with the past and create
new identities in a changing social scenario (Breckenridge, 1995). The Indian mobile phone market
has arisen to the second-largest world market after China with 391,76 million subscribers (Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI 2009), and here too phones appear to be evolving from a luxury
good to an indispensable commodity among youth (MACRO, 2004:24).
Before going deep into the analysis of the social meaning of mobile phones among Chinese
and Indian youth it is necessary to understand how consumers use goods to place themselves within
society, becoming both a new social currency (Liechty, 2003) and a language to communicate with
others (Baudrillard,1998). I will start this part by reviewing the relevant literature on the social
meaning of commodities, prior to discuss the main theories for and against global youth as a
homogenised consumer segment. This will then be collated to explore the acquisition and use of
mobile phones as a source of social identity among youth. The second part of this dissertation will
examine mobile youth, a term used to describe mobile phone owners under 29 (Mobile Youth, 2009)
in the specific societies to this study, China and India. First I will present an overview of the Chinese
and Indian youth mobile phone markets and then, I will analyse the ways in which phones perform
identity functions, aiming to find out if the identity values of handsets vary according to the local
context where they are inscribed or if they are becoming another manifestation of a global consumer
society.
As pointed out by Rodrigues and Smaill (2008) or Sanders (2008) among others, the majority
of the research on the role of mobile phones for youth is focused on the United States, Europe and
social group will have its particular set of signs and symbols. Bearing this in mind, and putting it
together with the theories on the globalization of consumer behaviour, in the next section I will discuss
the idea of youth as a global consumer segment, to discover whether or not the language of
consumption is becoming similar among youth from different countries and if they are expressing
identity and status through goods in the same way.
2.2. Global youth and the language of consumption
Prior to examine the theories on youth, consumption and globalisation, I shall start by
delimiting the concept of youth. Different countries use a different age range to bound youth, Australia
defines youth as those from 15 to 25 years old, Britain limits it up to 19 years old, whereas China
determines that youth comprises the population from 15 to 29
3
. In this dissertation I generally speak of youth as young people between 15 and 25, however, my focus is more on their social practices,
identity construction and consumption patterns, rather than just sticking to a demographic definition.
The youth stage is usually described as a period of identity construction on the path to
adulthood. Youth constitute the future generation, the new, tomorrow’s hope and it is often associated
with the idea of modernity, progress and a new life (Fornas, 1995:1). In fact, the idea of youth as a
defined stage of life arises from the emergence of the modern society and economic development,
which freed youngsters from the responsibilities of the adult world (Valentine et al. 1998:4). With the
economic growth experienced by the West after World War II, youth became an active member of the
consumer society and started being considered as market segment with its own consumption patterns
and culture (Kjeldgaard & Askegaard, 2006:232).
Culture can be defined as the distinct patterns of life of a social group, the shared meanings,
values and ideas that shape the behaviour of the members of a group (Clarke et al., 1975:10). Along
with the concept of youth as a distinctive social category, comes the term youth culture, which
revolves around the two dominant dimensions of youth: self-representation and group affiliation, and
which has in consumption one of the main mediums for expressing these aspirations (Willis, 1990:157). Fashion, music, leisure activities, technological gadgets…these all allow young people to create
their place between childhood and the adult world and to empower group relations. Going back to the
idea of consumption as a language presented above, we could say that goods constitute a language
through which youth communicate, claiming both individuality and group membership, what Turner
(1991:155) calls “individuals acting in terms of a shared identity”. Wearing a certain brand of jeans or
trainers, sharing the same fashion taste as your peers, the same consumption pattern, avoids exclusion
and engage the individual with his or her group (Tilt, 2006:73). Sardiello (1998:123) talks about music
3 For a full list of countries and age ranges see http://www.nyc.gov.sg/research/youthdefinition.asp
as a marker of social identity, explaining how teenagers acquire group membership through rock
music, using it and its associated rituals and symbols (such as concerts or merchandising) to define
their own community. These commodities not only play a role for self-definition but also allow the
individual to consciously separate himself from the crowd, from social conventions and authorities.
Please note that here I am not stating that consumption constitutes the only way to construct social
identities among youth, especially for those outside the developed world, but it is important to be
aware of its role to fully understand the theories on youth as a global consumer segment.
Much recent research about youth, identity and consumption has been focused in the concept
of the ‘global teen’. Schwartz (cf. in Mazzarella, 2003:218) believes that their desire to connect with
the group and establish their own social identity, setting themselves apart from adults and children,
will link them to other youngsters elsewhere in the world. This approach has been used by
multinationals to market their product, approaching these new global consumers adopting a commonstrategy and the same marketing language. For example, Coca-Cola launched in the early 1990s a
campaign in India based on the message ‘Share my Coke’ using a ‘one-feel good idiom’ (Mazzarella,
ibid: 218-220) to connect Indian youth with the global market. The theory of globalising consumer
markets was first developed by Levitt (1983), who claims that the development of telecommunications
and transportation have led to a new commercial framework populated with global standardised
products where consumers’ needs and desires become alike. The idea was not that every person would
be likely to buy the same product everywhere, but that segments would tend to be similar across
markets: businessmen purchasing the same gadgets, young women wearing look-alike make-up, kids
watching the same movies and teenagers drinking identical fizzy beverages.
Levitt’s argument has generated much controversy among those who believe that consumers
are not behaving that similar at all. Even if market segments are now more connected, this does not
mean that they are truly acting homogeneously. Levitt does not address the cultural forces that shape
consumer behaviour and that are still mostly embodied by local social factors. Looking specifically at
the subject of this paper, youth, Nilan and Freixa (2006:8) observe that the way youth participate in
global consumption practices, be it music, fashion, media or food, is influenced by their income,
religion, gender, status or ethnicity. From a similar perspective, Butcher and Thomas (2006:68)
conducted research among Australian teenagers of Asian origin, observing how they drew on both
their own cultural background and global symbols to display a unique identity, a blend of local and
global meaning.
One of the main criticisms that can be made against Levitt’s theory is its focus on products
rather than in consumers. According to Schroiff and Arnold (2004:164), what Levitt takes for granted
is that a globalised market for more homogeneous products is only feasible on a world of standardised
consumers. It has been pointed out that some particular goods, such as luxury products or industrial
items might present a higher degree of standardisation (Douglas and Wind, 1987:21), however there is
empowerment: the object of consumption is no longer a childish toy but a device that places them
within the youth culture, the first step towards adult life.
Besides serving as a vehicle to display status, the possession and appearance of the handset
can denote modernity. The mobile phone is connected with the idea of modernisation, an indicator of
development, progress and revolution. In China, for example, modernity comes hand-in-hand with
products that are new, innovative, technological and especially western (Wang, 2000:59). Mobile
phones fit perfectly with this definition of modernity. Mobile communications are characterised by
speed and immediate responses, two indispensable characteristics of globalisation and they are often
regarded, especially in developing countries, as a tool that enables its users to get in touch with the
West and be part of today’s modern world (Sullivan, 2007:27). In fact, the mobile phone subscription
ratio is used to measure economic and social development, an indicator of growth and modernisation.
As Sullivan (ibid) underlines in his study of the mobile phone in Bangladesh, for developing countries just the fact of possessing a phone embodies its owner with a halo of modernity.
Through its link to modernity, a mobile phone serves two crucial purposes in identity
construction. First, it contributes to reinforce the idea of independence from parents and older
generations. Being technology savvy becomes a youth feature and serves to differentiate from other
older social groups, who are usually less familiarised with the latest innovative applications. Secondly,
phone ownership influences the social image of youth: for teenagers in less developed societies a
mobile phone can help them to pursue what Liechty calls ‘suitable modernity’(2002:76), a set of
standards that define modernity and positions them above others. On the other hand, western youth
takes for granted the necessity of having a mobile phone and associates modernity to technologically
advanced features, such as touchscreens, built-in cameras, chat or mobile internet applications, as the
Mobile Youth 2009 global survey shows us. Having the latest devices and being up-to-date can
inscribe youngsters in a group that shares the same taste for technology and modernity, projecting a
particular sense of style.
Closely related to modernity comes fashion. Besides showing one’s technological awareness,
having the ‘right’ phone can be used to prove that one follows the current fashion trend (Ling,2004:105), or using again Liechty’s terminology, to bear out that one knows what is ‘suitable’.
Fashion taste appears as a means to display both group membership and personal identity. In terms of
group membership, the idea of what is fashionable can mark group boundaries and identify one’s peers,
establishing who is inside and who is excluded of the group, who speaks the same language of fashion
and who does not. For many teens just the brand of a mobile phone is a social statement by itself, for
example Motorola is considered as more suitable for business people than for teenagers and Nokia is
just for the cool people, as some of the participants in Ling’s study asserted (ibid: 104). Of course,
fashion is everything but static and brand perceptions change over time, what is trendy this week can
be regarded as old the next month. For example, today the must-have is an iPhone (Goggin, 2009:232),
that gathers together iPhone fans from all around the world, but tomorrow it might well be another
handset appearing as an icon for adolescents. Again, what matters is not the brand but the necessity of
being aware of the current fashion to maintain affiliation with the group.
Katz and Sugiyama (2006:322) compared mobile phone usage to that of jewellery and make-
up, where handsets are presented as a ‘miniature aesthetic statement’ about its owner, becoming a
fashion accessory that complements and enhances the owner’s look. Fashion helps to bring together
the desire for social acceptation described above with the desire for differentiation (Simmel, 1957),
enabling individuals to nurture self-image. With the rise of mobile phones and the increasing
availability of options to customise them: colour, size, cases, ringtones or small jewellery, many users
are starting to accessorise them to match their outfits or to fit into a certain season trend. Moreover, as
mobile phones become common objects and are not seen as a luxury anymore, some users take the
customisation of their handsets to new levels, willing to keep themselves standing out from the crowd
4
.
Mobile phone customisation is a trend mainly followed by female users, as noted by Hjorth
(2008:226). Women decorate their phones with small false diamonds, pink strings, flowers or cute
stickers, willing to create more feminine phones. Therefore, the mobile phone appears not only as a
way to display status or modernity as seen above, but it also constitutes a vehicle to express gender-
based identities. Users tend to associate gender characteristics to handsets: small and slim phones are
usually more appropriate for girls whereas men prefer bigger devices, displaying them as symbols of
power and virility (Plant, 2001: 21). The feminisation of commodities to define gender differences is
especially remarkable in those societies where femininity has been repressed, the consumption of
items such as cosmetics, clothing or jewellery reflects this desire of resurrecting feminine
characteristics. China, where the Maoist principle of sexual equality was based on the suppression of
female features (Zhang, 2003:212) is a good example. ‘Girly’ mobile phones reinforce women’s
sexuality, displaying a clear feminine style, as pointed out by Yu and Tng (2003:193). I shall come
back to this later on my analysis to see to what extent this trend is contributing to model youth identity
in China.
To say that mobile phones are communication tools seems to state the obvious. However, aswe have been seeing during this section, beyond enabling the user to call or message others, the
mobile phone is, by itself, an element to get in touch with the group, claim membership, develop
attachment or independence and transmit status, style and gender messages. Before moving on to the
next part, I would like to provide with some examples on how the social meaning of the phone plays a
role in peer and family relationships. For instance, the memory space for contacts on one’s handset
and the number of names stored are viewed many times as a way to measure the owner’s popularity
(Ling, 2004:110). Owning a phone with limited capacity to save contacts’ numbers can be interpreted
4 For a good example of extreme luxury customisation of Mobile phones are ostrich leather cases or silver phones charms, please see http://www.vertu.com/in-en/#in-en_accessories
widespread as in other countries, mainly due to its expensive cost, around 50% of Chinese urban youth
have used it at least one (Nielsen, 2009). As already noted, the majority of these statistics concern
urban China. The little data available for rural areas show that only 1 in 10 people have a mobile
phone (BusinessWeek, 2007), hence, for the majority of the population, including youth, mobile
phones are more an object of desire than a reality.
3.2. Mobile youth in India
India is the second market for mobile phones worldwide, 391,76 million users as of March
2009 (TRAI, 2009). India has the same number of mobile subscriptors under 30 years old as China,
240 million (Mobile Youth 2009), but in terms of mobile phone usage its rate is lower, considering
that Indian youth, estimated in 550 million people, is more than two times that of China’s. Phoneownership is much higher in urban than in rural areas. Rural population accounts for 60% of the total
but, according to the data released by TRAI only 109 million out of these 391,76 live in rural areas. In
these areas sharing a mobile phone among several households is usually the norm, to cover the lack of
landlines and to allow villagers to communicate with others (Kalba, 2008:636). Therefore, as said for
China, the possession of a handset is still a dream for the majority of the rural population.
Mobile phone penetration is also not homogenised among different age segments. On average
only 30,6% of Indian teenagers between 16 and 19 have their own handset, a figure that is even lower
for younger groups: just 11,6% of Indians under 13 years old own a phone. As expected, phone
ownership rate for those above 18 is higher, 64,6%, but again behind that of China. Like their Chinese
counterparts, these users usually choose SMS as the preferred method to get in touch with people.
Media content is also becoming more popular, especially ringtones. In addition, due to the lack of
landlines, computers and Internet infrastructure, the majority of these users, a staggering 75%, have
their first contact with internet through their mobile phones.
4. The social meaning of mobile phones for Chinese and Indian youth
4.1. Methodology
The following analysis is based on secondary sources, namely recent surveys and research
conducted among Chinese and Indian Youth, and more specifically on four studies: the already
mentioned Mobile Youth 2009 for both countries, the GSM Association (GSMA from now onwards)
study on China, Japan, India, Mexico and South Korea entitled Children Use of Mobile Phones: An
International Comparison, (February 2009), the research conducted by the Hakuhodo Institute of Live
and Living of Chinese Teenagers on China’s Mobile Phone Generation (2005) and the Study of
Mobile Phone Usage Among the Teenagers and Youth in Mumbai, carried out between April and May
2004 by the Market Analysis and Consumer Research Organization (hereafter referred to as MACRO).
All these studies combine quantitative and qualitative data, gathered through personal interviews and
fieldwork observation. The segments and geographic areas studied vary depending on the source, for
instance the Mobile Youth 2009 project interviewed urban youth between 13 to 25 years old from
Chinese and Indian metropolis, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
The GSMA study focused on teenagers up to 18 years, carrying out a questionnaire-based research
across China, excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao and Taiwan.
The same methodology was applied in India’s case, where researchers talked to teenagers from
different socio-economic status in 10 major cities, from Delhi to Ludhiana; capital of Punjab. The
scope of the other two sources is more limited: the Hakuhodo survey took place in Shanghai among200 boys and girls from 16 to 19 years old, whereas the MACRO study targeted youth between 15 to
30 years old across all social groups in Mumbai, extracting data from 175 face-to-face interviews.
Even if the amount of surveys and studies covering the Chinese and Indian youth mobile
markets is on the rise, the number of those going beyond demographic and usage figures and looking
at social and cultural implications is still low and, mainly focused on urban areas, as I have already
noted. By putting together these four studies I hope to provide sufficient insight on Indian and Chinese
youth from different age and socioeconomic groups, even though limited to urban areas. The mobile
phone market is constantly evolving, with the introduction of new innovations and spread of
technology. Consumer behaviour, attitudes and perceptions are not exempt from these changes,
especially youth, so one could find that data collated few years ago is already out of date. Therefore,
and aiming to provide the most accurate picture possible, more recent data from other secondary
sources, such as newspapers and polls, has been collated to complete the analysis.
they place more importance on functionality, branding and design, to create and reflect their own
personality and be above those within their social stratus. This claim for status is mixed together with
a wish to express a sense of modernity and fashion, as I will argue in the following sections.
In addition, the GSMA study presents remarkable data about mobile phone ownership and age
that could be useful to illustrate the idea of consumption as a rite of passage previously discussed. For
both cases, India and China, the desire to own a mobile phone is particularly noticeable among those
in their early teens: nearly 70% of the Chinese teenagers between 11 and 13 years old who do not have
a mobile phone expressed their desire to have one as soon as possible. As already emphasised, one of
the main variables influencing this desire was phone ownership among friends, the wish for a phone
was stronger among those teens whose closest friends had a mobile phone. Besides serving as an
indicator of social status and group membership, this could be adopted a sign of adulthood, as they did
not want to appear as less mature than their peers. It is very interesting to observe that the desire toown a phone among those who do not have one declines with age. For both countries, the lowest
percentage was found in the group of teenagers above 17, 48,2% in the case of Chinese youth and 19%
for Indian. As they grow up, the need to prove their age decreases, since they have other means to
prove their belonging to the adult world, such as a job, marriage or higher education for the fortunate
ones.
4.3. Modernity
Not so long ago, and paraphrasing Deng Xiaoping, to have a mobile phone was to be modern.
As I have previously mentioned, mobile devices were seen as a luxury, out of the reach of the majority
of the population. Today the situation is very different, with a 70% penetration rate, the population
describes modernity in terms of features and technological innovations and not with the mere presence
of a mobile phone. The GSMA survey affirms that Chinese youth put a great emphasis on
functionality and features, a priority gathered as well by Mobile Youth 2009 study: phones with
camera, touchscreen or Internet access are the new objects of desire. Coinciding with the literature
reviewed, western brands such as Nokia and Motorola, are described as the most modern and as the
ones with the most attractive features, together with the brand new iPhone, the ultimate icon of
modernity. Users get together to show the functions of their new phones and new chat rooms and
online communities are created almost everyday to comment and share their experiences with their
handsets. For Chinese youth the mobile phone is a key word in the language of modernity and those
who do not own a phone are regarded as backward.
When asked about the importance of features and functionality, only 25,8% of the Indian
teenagers targeted on the MACRO study affirmed that applications were very relevant for them.
Instead of linking modernity to the characteristics of the device as observed in China, Indian youth
associate the idea of modernity and progress to particular brands, namely Nokia, Samsung and
Motorola, brand names perceived as synonym of Western development. Through the ownership, or
even through showing awareness of the recent models launched by these brands, Indian teenagers
placed a bridge between them and more advanced groups, not only in terms of connecting with the
globalised world, but also with other groups within the same society. Teenagers from Bangalore
participating in the Mobile Youth research were especially aware of the importance of technologies as
a path for the progress of the country and for personal development, probably because of the strong
growth of the Information Technology industry in the area (Fuller & Narasimhan, 2006).
Nevertheless, this stress on brand and low relevance of applications might be changing.
According to more recent data, Indian youth are starting to associating modernity more with the
features of mobile phones, rather than with just the device per se. A survey carried out by ORG in
2008
5
found out that cameras were increasingly being perceived as an essential part of the phoneamong those consumers under 25 years old, with camera phones accounting for more than one-third of
the market. Those who use technology to display modernity and create a more individual identity are
looking for more advanced features that enable them to precede the masses, like memory card storage
and FM radio. This enthusiasm for technology has also widened the gap between generations.
Schwittay (2009) reports how mobile phones are causing anxiety and concern among parents, who
usually do not fully understand how these devices work and are worried about the social effects that
they might cause, like greater ease in contacting strangers or providing unnecessary distractions. Both
Indian and Chinese youth have taken ownership of their superior awareness, converting mobile phones
in a symbol of their generation, embodying it with modernity to claim their own place in the society.
4.4. Fashion
As found in the study published by GSMA and the Mobile Society Research Institute cited
before, design is one of the most important factors for Chinese youth when purchasing a new handset,
as pointed out by 42,7% of the respondents. Covers and cases are available in all the colours and prints
that one could imagine to match one’s personality and outfit, ranging from plain to ultra-modern style,
for those who want to differentiate from the rest and demonstrate their own sense of fashion. Mobile
phones have become a part of one’s personality, an extension of the teenage self. As a teenager from
Beijing that I interviewed during my internship said, phone decoration is a trend that one must follow
to be fashionable and to ‘feel complete’. The wide usage of the mobile phone as a fashion accessory in
China is only comparable to the Korean or the Japanese markets (Hill, 2003:183). Chinese youth place
a high importance on the design of their phones, colours, shape and customisation, adorning them with
5
According to a survey carried by market research agency ORG and reported by IT Examiner (21.10.2008),available online http://www.itexaminer.com/camera-phones-are-the-need-of-the-hour-in-india.aspx[accessed20.08.2009]
straps, fake diamonds or sticks with images of their favourite cartoons, pictures, personal messages or
charms (Bell, 2005:81). Youngsters add precious stones to their handsets, symbolising fortune, peace
or love, to display a spiritual sense of fashion emphasizing traditional Chinese values and cultural
pride (Katz and Sugiyama, 2005:75).
Together with images, ringtones are another method utilised to create a stylish device. Data
from the China Youthology report shows than more than 80% of mobile youth have downloaded
songs to customise their phones. The musical style of these songs often follows one’s peers’ musical
taste, yet another mode of strengthening group ties. English and Chinese pop songs are one of the most
popular tones, closely followed by the P.R.C. national anthem. The Mobile Youth study reveals how
brand choice does not escape fashion influence. Besides being a symbol of modernity as described in
the above section, Nokia and Motorola are two of the most sought brands by Chinese teens, being
perceived as stylish, trendy and a must have for the loyal fashion followers. Together with these twoforeign brands, teenagers mention national manufacturers such as Lenovo and Bird. For Chinese youth,
wearing national fashion has become a way to display chineseness and ‘China pride’ (Li & Zhang,
2009:15) and certainly mobile phones are not alien to this nationalist wave.
Indian youth featured in the GSMA study appear as less concerned by design than their
Chinese peers, only 30,8% said that design was one of the key aspects while getting a phone. Data
from the MACRO study coincide with these findings, 43% disagree with the statement ‘The model
you buy tells how fashionable you are’. As I have already pointed out, what matters more is to have a
mobile phone and the sense of fashion is relegated to a second position. Genevieve Bell (2005:82)
describes how second-hand handsets, coming from Hong Kong, Taiwan or Singapore, enjoy a high
market share, as they are quite more reasonably priced for Indian consumers than brand new ones.
Nevertheless, even if getting the latest phone seems not to be a priority for Indian teens, this does not
mean that they renounce to personalise their phones in more affordable ways. Accessories are not as
common as in China, 49% of the respondents in the MACRO study did not have even a single
accessory, but on the other hand, ringtones appear to be as popular as among Chinese youth. Nearly
one million of ringtones are downloaded every day, mainly by users between 12 and 25 years old6,
who share and compare them, showing their musical fashion taste.
4.5. Gender
The GSMA study shows some interesting data about gender differences while choosing a
mobile phone. Chinese girls prefer smaller and lighter handsets, a finding that has also been
highlighted by other authors such as Louie (2002:43), who maintains that the size and power of mobile
6 For more statistics, please see http://www.prlog.org/10050538-mobile-ringtones-will-it-surpass-the-music-industry.html
phones serve now to measure masculinity in China. Besides size and weight, the customisation of
mobile phones usually embodies gender. Chinese teenage girls often ‘feminise’ their devices by
adding flowers, hearts, sparkly stickers and cartoons’ images such as Hello Kitty or other anime
characters and putting them into pink, purple or red cases embroidered with characters such as love, or
beauty. As described in the literature review, the customisation of mobile phones with ‘feminine’
characteristics has been linked to a desire to reassert gender in these societies where women’s
identities were repressed for the sake of political or religious ideologies, as in Maoist China. Even if
this assertion might be true, I have not found enough evidence during my research to prove it among
Chinese youth, who probably are not fully aware of the historical circumstances and sexual
inequalities of the past. Chinese girls, as reported in the Hakuhodo study seem to be more concerned
about creating a ‘k ě ài’ (cute) aesthetic and express individuality rather than making political
statements about their gender 7.
Similarly to the case of fashion, among India youth gender is more empowered through mere
phone ownership. Panagakos and Horst (2006:119) found that usually, both in urban and rural India,
men control mobile phones and women have to ask for permission to use them. For Indian youth, to
have their own handsets allow them to be more independent and it is perceived as a symbol of
overcoming traditional male domination. As phones become more affordable, girls have more chances
to purchase one, taking a step forward towards placing themselves at the same level as their male
counterparts.
4.6. Social relationships
Ethnographic research carried out in China by Yu and Tng (2003:195) reveals that mobile
phones are considered as a tool to enhance guanxi, or personal connections. For Chinese, numbers
stored in their handsets are links to potential partners in situations that require personal relationships
and expand their social networks (McLelland, 2007:7). Despite not having the same significance as it
does for adults, more business oriented, Chinese youth put a great emphasis on the number of contacts
that they have on their phones, seeing them as the beginning of their own network. Furthermore, and
in tune with the theory described in the first part, the amount of contacts is one of the most common
ways to measure popularity. The Hakuhodo study (2005:5) estimates that teens under 19 years old
have an average of 70-80 contacts, a figure that increases as they start college and meet new friends,
willing to get as many new contacts as possible to prove their social acceptance. The importance of
contacts is remarkable in India too. Teenagers interviewed for the Mobile Youth 2009 project
7 Newsweek also published an interesting article on the rise of individuality and the loss of political awareness amongChina’s new generations: All Eyes Inward, (16.05.2009), available online http://www.newsweek.com/id/197893 [accessed
mentioned the importance of having other people’s numbers to feel part of the group, to the point of
believing that they would ‘be a nobody’ if their number is not in anyone’s phone book 8.
Despite this degree of collectivism and social belonging, the situation changes when it comes
to handset sharing. Sanders (2008:17) reported that urban Chinese youngsters considered their phones
as a very private item, being reluctant to share it with other family members or even with friends. This
attitude is less noticeable in India where half of the respondents to the Macro Study (ibid: 23) felt that
phones were ‘somewhat private’. One of the reasons behind this perception might be again the lower
availability rate. Another survey from Experientia (2008) reveals that more than 50% of respondents
in India said that they share, or would be willing to share, their phones with family and friends. Indian
teens often talk about phones as a shared tool that can be useful for all the household members, as a
joint device that reinforces ties with the usage group.
8
For more insight on the importance of the number of phone contacts and its relation to social acceptance and popularity please see also the article Education Plus Karnataka, published by The Hindu on 14.08.2006, availableonline http://www.hindu.com/edu/2006/08/14/stories/2006081400930300.htm [accessed 12.08.2009]
My starting point in this dissertation has been to question the theory of a global consumer
culture, based on the idea first proposed by Levitt that, thanks to the development of technologies and
communications, consumer segments are converging across countries and their behaviour is becoming
homogeneous. As I have argued, this theory does not take into account the social factors that influence
consumer behaviour. Consumption is an act performed by human beings, and as such, it cannot be
separated from their cultural and social background. Each one’s own values, beliefs, experiences,
desires, relationships, class, gender or age impact on our attitudes towards consumption creating a
diversity of perceptions. As stated, even if consumers from different parts of the world are nowadays
consuming the same globalised products, the needs and desires driving this consumption, its social
meaning, is not homogeneous. Given these considerations, then I approached one of the emblems of
the so-called globalised market, the youth, and the consumption of one of the symbols of this
consumer group in two emerging economies a priori comparable, China and India.
In the course of this paper I have discussed several studies on the consumption of mobile
phones by Chinese and Indian youth, all of them targeting people from the same age range, with
similar sex composition, resident in urban areas and from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, to
ensure the optimum comparison possible. Then I focused on identifying the meaning of the
consumption of mobile phones for both groups and specifically at how hey are being utilised to
construct and display identity, to demonstrate status, modernity or a sense of fashion, to state gender
or to build relationships. To sum up, this evaluation of the diverse ways to express identity through
mobile phones among Chinese and Indian youth unfolds resemblances between both groups but also
reveals differences, which could be used to question the theory of the homogenisation of the markets.
The main similarities found in this analysis are related to peer relationships. For both cases, the
number of contacts on one’s mobile phone works as an index of popularity, a proof of social success
and acceptance within the group, reinforcing self-esteem. Peer’s pressure is of equal importance for
Chinese and Indian youth, the desire to acquire a phone is higher if one’s closest friends already have
a phone, indicating group membership and maturity. In both societies the consumption of mobile phones is starting to be considered as a rite of passage, marking the end of childhood and the start of
adolescence.
Despite these similarities, there are remarkable differences between both groups. For example,
Chinese youngsters consider the mobile phone as a necessity, whose possession does not automatically
grant them status but whose lack of can relegate them to an inferior class. Status is projected via the
characteristics of the phone, which also serve to construct a modern and fashionable image. As
observed in the different surveys, China’s youth place emphasis in the use of accessories to create
individuality and show a unique taste. Through sticking precious stones and other charms to their
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