April 4, 2006
The ringtone is the new bumper sticker
Religious ringtones -- and ringback tones -- are growing in popularity throughout the world amongst people of faith, informs National Ledger.
Whether it is gospel music, or a Contemporary Christian, chart-topping hit, or the tones of a muezzin calling out five prayer times a day, mobile carriers are offering religious-based ringtones.
Even the secular humanists seem to be getting into the trend. "We have a whole series of socially responsible ring tones -- with anti-poverty and anti-animal cruelty themes," Andy Nulman, from ringtone developer Airborne Entertainment. "The ringtone is the new bumper sticker, or the new protest sign, raising your message above the crowd, letting them know what you think."
Next week, socially responsible themed ringtones, called "Just Cause", will be launched at a trade show for the cellular industry, said Nulman, noting that the message of one of the ringtones is, "Every 3.6 seconds, someone dies of hunger."
Overseas, the trend is growing too. In the UK a Christian text-messaging service called UCB Mobile sends prayers by SMS to the faithful, as well as receives prayer requests. Another firm, based in Dubai, developed a mobile phone, which included a compass, to tell the owner which direction to turn to pray to Mecca. Another provider has developed a mobile-phone service for Orthodox Jews in Israel, which garnered some attention recently during the election for a successor for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
A study showed that belief-oriented services may be particularly popular among 13- to 18-year-olds. "The pessimism of Generation X and the exuberant self-reliance of early Gen Y has given way to a new ethos," said the Energy BBDO study of 3,322 teenagers in 13 countries spanning the globe.
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