Mizuko Ito takes a look at the keitai generation in Japanese society, where we see perhaps the highest penetration of mobile media capability and reliance and with it, “sweeping changes to how we coordinate, communicate and share information.” I was led to this piece via bOing bOing, which led with the observation that leaving your phone at home is “the new taboo.” Instant mobile availability has also changed the dynamics of meeting-making; the appointment appears to be becoming a thing of the past. No one calls anyone’s home numbers anymore either, leading to a sense of parents’ losing control over their children’s social contacts. Interestingly, one “knocks before entering”, i.e. sends a text message asking if the recipient is available to talk on the phone before the intrusion of a sudden phone call (I wish my wife learned to do that sometimes…). Being in persistent contact with one’s intimates means a person has a “portable virtual peer space” with them at all times, changing the parameters of privacy and anonymity profoundly. Online Journalism Review