Are we evolved to live with mobiles? An evolutionary view of mobile communication

Abstract

By providing ultimate explanations for human behaviors, an evolutionary perspective lends itself to understanding why and how mobile communication occupies an ever increasingly critical role in modern life. From the perspective of evolution, human behaviors - in interaction with the environment - are driven by, and can be made understandable through the pursuit of physical and social survival and reproductive success. An evolutionary perspective can yield insight into commonalities observed in mobile communication across societies and cultures. To achieve these objectives, we revisit and reanalyze existing research on mobile communication through an evolutionary lens. In the process, we demonstrate that seemingly inexplicable activities from a conventional communication perspective can be meaningfully interpreted from an evolutionary perspective. We extend the evolutionary perspective on mobile communication to examine implications for social policy and further research.