July 11, 2005
Cellphone Psychology: You Are Your Ring Tone
An entertaining essay by Meghan Daum for LA Times on ringtones and vanity. [via Ypulse].
"That trusty euphemism, "you are your car," has been eclipsed by a new window to the soul, the cellphone ring tone.
... The cellphone ring tone is setting a new standard in narcissistic raucousness.
Now that the simple, land line-style ring and the formerly ubiquitous 13-note Nokia theme are about as fashionable as the Ford Taurus, people are engaged in a round-the-clock game of one-upmanship.
... Noise aside, what really irks me about these ring tones is the same thing that irks me about so many of the needless consumer items that purport to be vehicles of self-expression. Like personalized license plates and unicorn checks, they do more to strip away our individuality than to showcase it. Personalities have a way of sagging under the weight of strenuous efforts to show them off. And judging by the vast majority of one-sided cellphone conversations I've overheard, most of us can't afford to lose anything more in the personality department.
In other words, it really doesn't matter that I didn't manage to download "You're So Vain." What my ring tone can't say for me, my conversations will."
Related "you are your ringtone" articles:
-- On ringtones, What melody did you pick?
-- What Does Your Ringtone Say About You?
-- Are ringtones an extension of your negative side?
-- What kind of person sets their phone solely on vibrate mode?
-- What your ringtone says about you
-- Ringtones can reveal more about yourself that you might think
-- Ringtones: The new currency of cool
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