Consumption dynamics and technological change - exemplified by the mobile phone and related technologies

The present paper deals with the dynamics underlying the consumption of new commodities, especially mobile phones, which are among the fastest growing categories of consumption goods in recent years. The paper is based on a research project regarding households' first-time acquisition of new consumer goods. The project was basically motivated by environmental and distributional concerns, and the purpose is first to reveal some important consumption dynamics at work on the micro level, and second to investigate how respondent families use new technologies, and how these are eventually integrated into gradual changes of everyday life - thereby influencing consumption dynamics and environmental impacts of everyday life in the longer term. The exposition of empirical findings is organised according to a theoretical framework outlining the acquisition and domestication processes - a framework that has emerged through the analytical process. The study illustrates how consumption drives are deeply embedded in the considerations, themes and complexities of everyday life, showing few signs of satiation in the short term. Moreover our findings on domestication indicate that some environmentally costly trends in everyday life appear to continue.