A DIGITAL LIFESTYLE IOIOIOIIOOO

As I was scanning the digital world I came across an interesting and informative short film produced by Andrew Berglund (Global Interactive Executive Creative Director at Cheil Worldwide) called “A Day in The Life of a Mobile Phone in Seoul” - An Interactive Exploration of Marketing Technology among the YMCs (Young-Minded Consumer) in South Korea. The video gives a great overview and insight on mobile phone usage and behaviour of YMCs living in the modern digital metropolis of Seoul. How today’s youth consumer is making the mobile device an extension of his/her existence - utilising a wide spectrum of mobile services from video calls, SMS, MMS, vlogging/blogging, internet, mobile TV broadcast, digital multi-media broadcast, m (mobile)-commerce, m-banking, m-mags, m-movies and other dynamic multi-sensory social content.

As this film is set and produced in South Korea, I wondered if there were any cultural similarities or dissimilarities with Japanese YMCs. I felt I could answer this question before I even asked it......there are very few cultural mobile phone usage differences in Korea and Japan. However, there are significant cultural differences with western nations. For example, you would typically see people talking or text messaging on their phones while waiting at the bus stop in a western nation, but one would soon see that while waiting at bus stop in Korea or Japan, people waiting for the bus in say Seoul or Tokyo watch their mobile phone screens intensely instead. People are totally immersed in consuming digital media whenever and wherever possible on their mobile phones in Seoul and Tokyo.

Despite the fact there are few cultural mobile phone differences between Korea and Japan, I believe there are some applications and services that may differ. One is called the Polygraph which is a mobile lie detector allowing South Korean girls to test if their boyfriends are telling them the truth about their where-abouts and there extra-curricular activities.....wonder if this should be introduced to the women of Japan..???!!!

Another interesting mobile service is the Navi Call Taxi Service. A passenger calls a cab from a specific number, and it knows where you are via a GPS system. As to make the taxi experience more safe for young women, the service sends a text message to the parents and/or friends with the name and number of the taxi and its location....definitely something to put young women's minds at ease.

Even though today's world is classed as a boundary less and global economy, one can still see the differences in technology and infrastructure and the differing ubiquitous nature of mobile phones across the world.

Australian Chris