ABSTRACT
Christoph Klimmt and Dorothée Hefner, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Leonard Reinecke, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and Diana Rieger and Peter Vorderer, University of Mannheim
How does the expectation that we can access online media and services with our mobile devices anytime and anywhere affect our thinking? The present chapter explicates core dimensions of the permanently online and permanently connected mind. First, we outline the components of online vigilance—a state of mind that explains why many people attend to their smartphone so often. Next, we describe a broader set of expectations that many users develop from their close relationship to their smartphone and their personal online sphere. Finally, we derive a research agenda for future communication studies from this explication of “POPC.”
