The Diffusion of Mobile Telephony in Popular Culture

Main Focus Of The Chapter

The term popular culture simply referred to as pop culture is recorded to have been first used during a speech by Johann Hienrich Pestalozzi in the year 1818⁵. At that time, the term was used in the context of lower class and poor education because these contrasted the elite practices in the society. Eventually, improved economic standards and increase in literacy levels brought about (popularity of entertainment) and necessitated a growing consumer culture. In the early days, the sole element that propelled popular culture was entertainment and this has continued till date.

Over the years, the concept of popular culture has generated debates, yet no single definition is considered universally (Parker, 2011). Several accounts explain popular culture (as the name implies) is a culture that has gained widespread popularity, be it social, economic, cultural, political and otherwise. Notably, popular culture evolves constantly through inter-reliant perceptions and beliefs that influence society and its people over a period of time.