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15 The multitude of available ringtones enables consumers to change the melodies as often as they wish. For some, changing their ringtone may be just a matter of changing tastes or moods. For others, it is the desire to be unique—to be different from everyone else. In 2004 researchers conducted a study among Australians about how they viewed their phones. When one woman was asked about whether she saw this customization as an extension of the user’s personality or identity, she replied, I think so because I think you get judged by your ringtone when you are in public.

What may be considered acceptable behavior in one culture can be a significant insult in another. SMS has been adopted by many users as a way of avoiding such cultural missteps. For example, in Japan, texting is used between people of different social status in order to avoid the social faux pas of interrupting. Charles McGrath, writing in the New York Times Magazine, points out that texting allows users in China to take advantage of a mobile phone’s basic design: The Chinese language is particularly well-suited to the telephone keypad, because in Mandarin the names of the numbers are also close to the sounds of certain words; to say “I love you,” for example, all you have to do is press 520.

In Jerusalem, Jewish a new country in search of a better life. worshippers at the Western Wall (also Texting allows them to keep in touch known as the Wailing Wall) use their with friends and family, without the phones to connect to their friends and concerns of time differences or the need family at home. Holding their phones for computer access for e-mail. aloft while the other person prays The Philippines is home to millions ensures that the prayer is heard at that of cell phone users, many of whom are sacred location.