Motivated by new theoretical perspectives that emphasize communication technology as a symbolic tool and physical extension of the human body and persona ( Apparatgeist theory and Machines That Become Us), this article explores how fashion, as a symbolic form of communication, is related to self-reports of mobile phone behaviors across diverse cultures. A survey of college students in the United States and Japan was conducted to demonstrate empirically the relationship between fashion attentiveness and the acquisition, use, and replacement of the mobile phone. The results suggested that young people use the mobile phone as a way of expressing their sense of self and perceive others through a ‘fashion’ lens. Hence it may be useful to investigate further how fashion considerations could guide both the rapidly growing area of mobile phone behavior, as well as human communication behavior more generally.

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Drawing from the results of focus group interviews conducted between 2006 and 2010 in Japan, this paper examines the functions of emoji. Now that emoji have gained global recognition as seen in mobile applications, examining the way Japanese teens use emoji offers some insight into the way emoji use is practiced among teens in the global cultural context. The results highlight two functions of emoji in the context of mobile interactions: emoji allow Japanese teens to manage communication climate as well as to construct and express their aesthetic selves. Further research is needed to investigate to what extent these interaction norms, symbolic meanings, and electronic emotions are applicable to various cultural contexts in the era of smart phones. Such efforts will promote our further understanding of both current and future trends of teens’ mobile emoji use, emotional experiences, sense of the self, and relational concerns.

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