ABSTRACT
There is no other technical device in the world that has such a ubiquitous distribution as the smartphone. At the same time, there are no more than a handful of manufacturers supplying the global market with these devices. From a societal perspective, therefore, domestication is an obvious, if not necessary, process for embedding these objects in different cultural contexts. While domestication describes processes in which globally uniform objects are connected to different attributes and norms, a closer observation of the smartphone reveals the limitations to such modifications. The limits of the ‘domestication perspective’ relate to the manifold possibilities of interaction, the intimate proximity to the individual user to these objects and the potential to bring completely new networks to life. The power of the local has the possibility to act on this. On the basis of the example dealt with here more extensively, some general aspects can be highlighted. Thus, domestication always has to do with the valuation of the object (or institution) to be domesticated. Furthermore, domestication can contribute to the emerging of new traditions. Finally, domestication suggests a focus on the agency and creativity for those being engaged in domesticating. In more general terms, it can be said that domestication is something universal in the context of globalisation.
