Qu'est-ce que répondre au téléphone?. Une sociologie des sonneries téléphoniques (musicales)

Based on an empirical study of the uses of musical ringtones, the paper shows: a) how personal musical tastes combine with the requirements of the presentation of self in public spaces to orient choices towards well-known musical excerpts, taken from the repertoire of mass consumption; b) how users exploit the resources of ringtones to personalize the ring with respect to callers and to alleviate the cognitive burden of the decision to answer the phone (or not); c) a normative shift in which the "ring-as-music" (which invites listening) is treated as a pleasant counterpart to the 'ringassummons' (which projects an answer as a relevant next action). The diffusion of mobile ringtones is supported by, and reinforces, the increase of the cognitive and normative pressures exerted on call takers in a world in which availability to connexion is valued more and more. Based on an empirical study of the uses of musical ringtones, the paper shows: a) how personal musical tastes combine with the requirements of the presentation of self in public spaces to orient choices towards well-known musical excerpts, taken from the repertoire of mass consumption; b) how users exploit the resources of ringtones to personalize the ring with respect to callers and to alleviate the cognitive burden of the decision to answer the phone (or not); c) a normative shift in which the "ring-as-music" (which invites listening) is treated as a pleasant counterpart to the 'ringassummons' (which projects an answer as a relevant next action). The diffusion of mobile ringtones is supported by, and reinforces, the increase of the cognitive and normative pressures exerted on call takers in a world in which availability to connexion is valued more and more.