Consumption, Technology and Adaptation: Care and Repair Economies of Mobile Phones in North India

On the edges of the digital world in India, there are millions of mobile phone users. To cater for these consumers, an economy of mobile phone care and repair has emerged in almost every town. Through the experiences of consumers and repairers, this article explores technology distribution, service practices and economic opportunity. How do they learn their trade? How do they make a living? And how do they position themselves in relation to the official branded manufacturers and licensed agents? Conceptually, the article is concerned with the nexus between consumer culture, the Indian middle class and the poor and how they engage global capitalism. It argues that middle class ideologies and practices of consumption are both exclusive and expansive. At the same time, the poor seek to engage this economy by tapping into the unauthorized sector that responds to their demands for local participation in the global economy, while keeping them also at a certain distance from the forms and symbolic capital of the new economy.

消費、科技與適應性：北印的移動電話保養與維修經濟

在印度數字世界的邊緣地帶有著數百萬的移動電話用戶。為了迎合這些消費者的需求，幾乎每個鄉鎮都出現了移動電話保養與維修經濟。通過攷察消費者和維修者的經歷，本文探討科技分佈、服務實踐與經濟機遇之間的關係。例如，維修者是如何學習到行業技術的？他們如何賺錢維生？置身於正式品牌製造商和有執照的營運商之間的他們是如何看待自己的位置的？本文從理論上探討了消費文化、印度中產階級及貧民之間的關係，以及他們與全球資本主義的互動。本文認為，中產階級意識形態及其消費實踐既具排他性又具開放性。而那些未經授權的領域迎合了貧民參與全球經濟的需求，為他們提供了參與這一經濟的機會，但同時也使他們與新經濟的形式和象徵資本保持了一定的距離。

Translated from English by Xin Huang