Social Coordination

As stated in the book The Mobile Connection:The Cell Phone’s Impact on Society, “Louis Mumford said that the clock is not merely a means of keeping track of hours, but of synchronizing actions (Ling, p. 57).” Although this “clock” mentioned was probably one that hung on a wall or was worn on someone’s wrist when it was first written, but the whole idea of the clock has completely changed. Clocks can be found everywhere – they are in every classroom at work, in the corner of your computer screen, or more importantly on the face of your cell phone. There is no way of stopping time, it is everywhere you turn, and with the availability of time these days my eyes never go off it.

Like the good saying, “A watched pot never boils,” a watched clock doesn’t move any faster either. Even knowing this sort of saying my mind will still not allow me to go a day without looking at a clock. I am sure, however, that I am not the only one dealing with this addiction of time. The worst part about my addiction is how I view time. Ever since high school, I have worn a watch and although the face of it might have changed a bit, the time is still the same. For some reason however, when I want to find out what time it is, instead of looking quickly at my wrist, I take the time to search through my purse, wristlet or bag to find my cell phone. I consciously forget that my watch does serve some sort of purpose. My cell phone is not only a means of telling time though, it is also a means of organizing my time.

“Mobile telephony has introduced the ability to call quickly or to ‘text’ to others and change plans when new exigencies arise, using a type of microcoordination or the nuanced management of social interaction via the use of mobile communication (Ling, p. 58).” No longer are landlines the only means of social plans, now the cell phones both opens up opportunities as well as makes for a whole mess of change.

Before the cell phone, if a person had a Doctor’s appointment at a certain time and were going to be late, they were late. Now, if a person has an appointment and is going to be late they can call on their way and give fair warning or even cancel it because they are stuck in a traffic jam. Cell phones, thus cause my white out to cover the pages of my planner. It can also take important time that should be rejuvenating your body out of our lives like this article from TIME shows us. Nothing seems certain anymore. Meetings can change at the drop of a hat, dates can be scheduled and rescheduled and people can be included or not whenever it sees fit.

"Social Gatherings in the age of cell phones"

“If we decompose the concept of coordination, we lay bare several important dimensions: (1) the number of people involved in the activity, (2) the period between planning a meeting or an event and its execution, and (3) the degree to which the planned activities are simultaneous and collocated (Ling, p. 61).” Whenever I plan to go out with friends, there are always several steps involved to the coordination of time management.

First, there is always the person who “makes all the phone calls,” he/she seems to be the ring leader in the event planning process. They make all of the initial calls, see who is attending, explain the time, location, and transportation options and then possibly give them all of this information to pass along to the next person. I always seem to be that person. This however, as very nicely stated in the section of Social Coordination, can leave me with several possibilities.

“Social coordination can involve different numbers of people, there can be different delays between the planning of an activity and the activity itself and the coordinating parties can plan events that are both simultaneous and collocated or activities that are consecutive and dispersed (Ling, p. 61).” By having the social planning control I can decide to some degree who I want to invite to the outing, possible a time change and even the transportation. Overall, having a cell phone and having control over my time more than ever before allows me to organize my life as well as possibly others.

-S. Peterson