Abstract
Significant growth in mobile media consumption has prompted a call to better understand the socio-cultural and policy dimensions of consumer choices. Contrary to industry and technology led analysis, this study argues that to guide consumer choice and innovation via regulatory policies requires an understanding of both ex-ante as well as in ex-post consumption conditions. This study examines mobile phone gaming to uncover how consumer anti-choice shapes decision-making as a framework for closely interrogating the ways in which policy concerns impact on consumers' behavior. Through eleven focus groups (n=62), the study empirically identifies voluntary, intentional, and positive consumer anti-choice behaviors all of which impact policy initiatives when consumers, both gamers and non-gamers, self-regulate their behaviors. Findings point to four types of policy implication: regulating the self-regulated, understanding anti-choice, boundary-setting and including the self-excluded.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 439-449 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Telecommunications Policy |
Volume | 37 |
Issue number | 6-7 |
Early online date | 7 May 2013 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2013 |
Keywords
- anti-choice
- mobile phone gaming
- self regulation
- telecommunication policy