Hannah Doran include Sam using their mobile as a phone to contact clients . Sam has a mid-morning break and realises their fridge and cupboards are nearly empty and are in serious need of restocking . Something that would take longer to do physically , can thankfully be done using an app on Sam ’ s mobile that has their shopping list saved . By using an online payment method that retains Sam ’ s debit card number , Sam is able to use their mobile phone to order a food delivery from their nearest supermarket at a time that suits Sam ’ s schedule . It is 1pm and it is time for Sam ’ s afternoon virtual meeting with work via zoom . Ordinarily , an in-person meeting would take place in an office , but Sam uses their technology at home . This is something that Sam would normally do using their laptop or computer , however despite the smaller screen , their mobile phone will suffice . Sporadically throughout the day , Sam uses their phone ’ s “ multi-stable technology ” ( Warfield 2017 ) to converse with friends on social media platforms , check out the breaking news via their news app , impulse-buy something online , listen to their favourite songs via online radio , and play their favourite gaming apps . After a long day of working and procrastinating , Sam orders dinner via another of the many food delivery apps . Whilst eating , Sam is able to video call their friend for a weekly catch up that again would have perhaps ordinarily taken place in person . It gets to 9pm and Sam would normally sit down to watch television , but instead sits in front of their mobile phone screen and uses a popular streaming app to binge-watch their favourite television series that just came out . This is the last thing Sam
32 uses their phone for before residing to bed and waiting for the next day to begin .
What is Sam not able to do on their phone ?
Conclusion A reformulated mobile-asmirror influenced by Warfield ’ s analysis of the mobile phone as a multi-stable technology ( Warfield 2017 ) has enabled us to explore the capabilities of apps such as WhatsApp and Discord to reflect , construct and reveal worlds ( Frosh 2019 ) to us , that produce lived experiences that stand in opposition to our ‘ everyday ’ lives . Resulting in a feeling of multiplicity in the sense of living different lives – different senses of the ‘ self ’ through different apps – we realise the power of the mobile-as-mirror on and in our everyday life .
One may look at our account of Sam living out their life purely through the capabilities of their mobile phone and think it unrealistic . However , to take this view is the misunderstand the point of exploring this concept . Perhaps what we can learn from reading this not-todistant dystopian exploration of life – centred around the mobile phone – is that the mobile is something that can be far more profoundly impactful on our day-today life than we may realise .
The mobile is thus not just a mirror as intended by Warfield , but is a mirror that can reflect , reveal , and construct real lives through their applications . The mobile phone has the capability to sublate new ideas and technologies now more than ever , greater than any other technology can , broadening its multi-