Mobile Media Gadgets of the Analog Age

As a cultural practice, the “mobile” use of media technologies has developed alongside the growing individualization and mobilization of consumer societies during the second half of the twentieth century and in connection with analog media gadgets, such as the portable radio or the cassette recorder. Being mobile did not refer only to a physical movement but also to the potential use of portables “anytime, anywhere,” that is, without the need of location-bound wires or connections. Portable electronics were used both indoors and outdoors as well as in stationary and mobile modes, and their extensive and widespread use led to new mobility and technological cultures. [Page 979]These were characterized not only by a high autonomy and flexibility but also by an increased inflexibility, since portables often ...