Culture & Behaviors

From emojis to memes, we connect and make meaning with tech.

New phone, who dis? From emojis to memes, our devices and platforms are changing how we connect with each other. How do our relationships and cultural norms evolve and transform alongside technology? How do we push back?

Photo: Mika Baumeister via Unsplash Illustration: TTWW

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Cell phone subscriptions surpass human population

Graph depicting the rate of mobile phone subscriptions surpassing the global population.

By 2015 there were more cell phones in use than people on Earth according to United Nations International Telecommunication...

Year of the selfie

"Selfie" became the Oxford Dictionary's word of the year. Selfies, or self-portraits taken with mobile phones, became a...

Rise of cyberbullying

Photo of a young person hanging their head, holding a mobile phone, swarmed by harassing text messages.

Cyberbullying has escalated as more people connect online, affecting many, especially youths. Persistent, invasive, and...

First car phone call

An engineer demonstrates a car phone five months before the historic first call on a competing company’s commercial mobile telephone service in 1946.

AT&T's Bell System introduces the Mobile Telephone Service was introduced. The first MTS call was made in 1946 in St....

“In middle school (!) I felt pressured to get an iPhone (instead of an Android).”

– Anonymous, San Francisco, CA

Describe a significant moment in your life that involved a mobile phone.

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Make your phone more boring.

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Photo showing how grayscale mode makes social media apps less appealing.

Switching a smartphone to grayscale mode helped people reduce their screen time by 18% in one study.

Explore Collections

Bodies & Minds

Pocket computers are intimate tech.

Movements & Resistance

Tech is both a tool and a target for collective action.

Risk & Safety

Tech can simultaneously expose and protect our vulnerabilities.

Economy & Labor

Tech disrupts economies and changes the nature of work.

Connection & Access

Connectivity is never a given.

Design & Use

The design of tech shapes and influences our use, and vice versa.

Materials & Waste

Human transformation of metals and sand has environmental impacts.

Decades

Explore the chronological timeline of a people's history of tech.

People's Stories

Explore the living artifact of your stories and experiences.

Resources

Take action and imagine better tech futures.

Tell Your Story

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  • Ben
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  • Bettina Dalton
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  • Caitlin Begg
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  • Carrie
  • *
  • Catherine Ingram
  • *
  • Chelsey Petty-Dale
  • *
  • Cody Brooks
  • *
  • Willow Idlewild
  • *
  • Confidence Osein
  • *
  • Eli Pariser
  • *
  • Dana
  • *
  • Domsk
  • *
  • Eli Boahen
  • *
  • Emily Best
  • *
  • Erica
  • *
  • Erik Matthies
  • *
  • Grace
  • *
  • Ina
  • *
  • Jasmine Sun
  • *
  • Jeffrey Abramson
  • *
  • Jim Remsik
  • *
  • Coraline Ada Ehmke
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  • Kaitlin
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  • Kane
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  • Kris Boustedt
  • *
  • Kristen
  • *
  • Laura Heery
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  • Laura Kalbag
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  • Ligaya
  • *
  • Lorna Craig
  • *
  • Maira Elahi
  • *
  • Meghan
  • *
  • Nick
  • *
  • Owen
  • *
  • Pablo
  • *
  • Patrick McDermott
  • *
  • Reuben Johnson
  • *
  • Rosita
  • *
  • Sam
  • *
  • Sara M. Watson
  • *
  • Sarp
  • *
  • SaVance Ford
  • *
  • Natalya Dell
  • *
  • Sherri Johnson
  • *
  • Spencer
  • *
  • Theresa Richardson
  • *
  • Whitney
  • *
  • Xiaowei Wang
  • *
  • AB
  • *
  • Andrew Gurza
  • *
  • Antonio
  • *
  • B Kelley
  • *
  • Becky Russell
  • *
  • Ben
  • *
  • Bettina Dalton
  • *
  • Caitlin Begg
  • *
  • Carrie
  • *
  • Catherine Ingram
  • *
  • Chelsey Petty-Dale
  • *
  • Cody Brooks
  • *
  • Willow Idlewild
  • *
  • Confidence Osein
  • *
  • Eli Pariser
  • *
  • Dana
  • *
  • Domsk
  • *
  • Eli Boahen
  • *
  • Emily Best
  • *
  • Erica
  • *
  • Erik Matthies
  • *
  • Grace
  • *
  • Ina
  • *
  • Jasmine Sun
  • *
  • Jeffrey Abramson
  • *
  • Jim Remsik
  • *
  • Coraline Ada Ehmke
  • *
  • Kaitlin
  • *
  • Kane
  • *
  • Kris Boustedt
  • *
  • Kristen
  • *
  • Laura Heery
  • *
  • Laura Kalbag
  • *
  • Ligaya
  • *
  • Lorna Craig
  • *
  • Maira Elahi
  • *
  • Meghan
  • *
  • Nick
  • *
  • Owen
  • *
  • Pablo
  • *
  • Patrick McDermott
  • *
  • Reuben Johnson
  • *
  • Rosita
  • *
  • Sam
  • *
  • Sara M. Watson
  • *
  • Sarp
  • *
  • SaVance Ford
  • *
  • Natalya Dell
  • *
  • Sherri Johnson
  • *
  • Spencer
  • *
  • Theresa Richardson
  • *
  • Whitney
  • *
  • Xiaowei Wang
  • *
  • AB
  • *
  • Andrew Gurza
  • *
  • Antonio
  • *
  • B Kelley
  • *
  • Becky Russell
  • *
  • Ben
  • *
  • Bettina Dalton
  • *
  • Caitlin Begg
  • *
  • Carrie
  • *
  • Catherine Ingram
  • *
  • Chelsey Petty-Dale
  • *
  • Cody Brooks
  • *
  • Willow Idlewild
  • *
  • Confidence Osein
  • *
  • Eli Pariser
  • *
  • Dana
  • *
  • Domsk
  • *
  • Eli Boahen
  • *
  • Emily Best
  • *
  • Erica
  • *
  • Erik Matthies
  • *
  • Grace
  • *
  • Ina
  • *
  • Jasmine Sun
  • *
  • Jeffrey Abramson
  • *
  • Jim Remsik
  • *
  • Coraline Ada Ehmke
  • *
  • Kaitlin
  • *
  • Kane
  • *
  • Kris Boustedt
  • *
  • Kristen
  • *
  • Laura Heery
  • *
  • Laura Kalbag
  • *
  • Ligaya
  • *
  • Lorna Craig
  • *
  • Maira Elahi
  • *
  • Meghan
  • *
  • Nick
  • *
  • Owen
  • *
  • Pablo
  • *
  • Patrick McDermott
  • *
  • Reuben Johnson
  • *
  • Rosita
  • *
  • Sam
  • *
  • Sara M. Watson
  • *
  • Sarp
  • *
  • SaVance Ford
  • *
  • Natalya Dell
  • *
  • Sherri Johnson
  • *
  • Spencer
  • *
  • Theresa Richardson
  • *
  • Whitney
  • *
  • Xiaowei Wang
  • *