[253] One Minute Essay - Week 3

[Richard Smith <smith@sfu.ca>]

Dear 253,

We didn't have time to do the "1 minute essay" today - well, let's be  
honest, I forgot...

Anyway, I think we can solve that pretty easily - you can do it by e- 
mail. Which is what the online people have to do anyway, so let's go:

Recall my discussion of the "commodification" argument, most famously  
raised by Jurgen Habermas. The claim is that public space is being  
taken over by commercial messages and in so doing, crowds out or  
disrupts our ability to think about the democratic issues of the day.  
Cell phone calls could be a kind of commodified (you pay by the  
minute or second) speech, and they appear in many novel situations  
(like buses and bathroom stalls) these days.

With that in mind, but not necessarily driving your answer, here's  
the question:

	In your view, is cell phone use eroding the distinction between  
public and private space? Give an example.

You could frame your answer in terms of how you perceive other  
people's use of cell phones, or how you use them yourself.

You can complete this assignment by replying to this e-mail (it will  
come directly back to me). Please do so right away.

Remember, in this type of assignment there is not right or wrong,  
there is no judgement about grammar or spelling (although try to be  
easy on my eyes...), and you don't have to do any research. Just  
reflect on the question and let your thoughts flow onto the screen.

...r

--
Richard Smith, Associate Professor School of Communication
Simon Fraser University, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, CANADA  
V6B 5K3
Phone: 604 291 5116 Web: http://www.sfu.ca/~smith/ Mobitus: 2001 1070  
0578 skype - callto://richard_k_smith
PGP Public Key: http://arago.cprost.sfu.ca/smith/ 
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