Geographic concepts help us understand the distribution and diffusion of popular culture. Popular culture diffuses rapidly around the world in the twenty-first century primarily through electronic media. The latest fashions in material culture and leisure activities can be viewed by anyone in the world who has access to one or more forms of electronic media. Electronic media increase access to popular culture for people who embrace folk culture and at the same time increase access to folk culture for people who are part of the world’s popular culture scene.

Diffusion of Cell Phones & Smartphones

Cell phones have diffused rapidly around the world in the twenty-first century (Figure 4-8). In the world as a whole, the number of cell phones increased from 338 per 1,000 in 2005 to 1,045 per 1,000 in 2017.

Cell Phones

Cell phones have become common in Africa, where traditional land line services are scarce (Figure 4-9). Access to electricity is limited in Africa, but cell phones do not require the costly investment of connecting wires to each individual building, and more individuals can obtain service from a single tower or satellite.

Cell Phone Service in Africa

Smartphone ownership is also diffusing rapidly. The percentage of Americans owning smartphones increased from 35 percent in 2011 to 77 percent in 2016. More than 90 percent of Americans between 18 and 29 years old have smartphones, but ownership is also increasing rapidly among older Americans. Internationally, the rate of ownership of smartphones remains higher among developed countries than among developing ones, but the gap is narrowing.

Pause & Reflect 4.1.3

Compare the impact on a society of cell phones that enable voice communication and simple texting with the impact of smart phones that give users access to a wide range of media.

Most Popular Social Network

In the first years of social media, many distinct networks were popular in much of the world, especially in developing countries (Figure 4-10). Most of those competing social networks were quickly supplanted by Facebook, especially in Latin America. Notably absent from the list of leading Facebook users is the world’s most populous state, China. China’s government has limited the ability of the Chinese people to use Facebook, instead promoting QZone, a social media platform the government controls. Russia also discourages the use of Facebook. Restricting the freedom to use the Internet is a major issue in some countries, as discussed later in this chapter.

Most Popular Social Network

(a) In 2009, a wide variety of social networks were in use. (b) In 2018, Facebook was the most popular except in countries where the government limited people’s access to it.

The distribution of popular culture around the world is not uniform. The principal obstacle to popular culture is lack of access to electronic media. For example, Google Maps has extensive Street View coverage in the developed regions of North America and Europe but remains spotty in the developing regions of Africa and Asia

The Availability of Google Street View