Artifactual Communication
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Since the beginning of time, people have drawn clear boundaries in reference to what is good and what is not. What has been defined as good is living a life of luxury; a life of fine wine, food, and adornments. On the other hand, what is not good is having few or outdated material possessions. Although we may not realize it, today we still follow those rules set by artifactual communication. We use artifactual communication when selecting what clothes to wear, which car to buy, and what cellular device to own. This is because we want to send a specific message to society when their eyes fall upon us. However, in our modern times we have the ability to display whatever message we choose. For instance, when a person goes into a store to buy a shirt they are also choosing to represent the statement that the shirt makes. The statement varies by item but gives us the opportunity to show other what we would like them to know, without even saying a word.
A new trend in artifactual communication is the iPhone. Originally released in June of 2007, the iPhone has sold more than 75 million units in the US alone. Apple was already dominating the market for music players, practically banishing portable CD players, but they had their eyes set on a new prize. That prize was to create a product which would surpass ordinary functions of the average cell phone and introduce a new era of technology to consumers. Since the release of the iPhone it has become a social status symbol due to its sleek design, attractive programming, and exclusiveness. The best thing about the iPhone is how it can be personalized. There are 500,000 applications (and counting) as well as hundreds of different phone covers to diversify the feel and use of each phone. Therefore a person who owned an iPhone could tailor their experience to their liking while also telling society “I am technologically savvy and not afraid to show it”.
A slightly older form of artifactual communication is body art, also known as tattoos. Dating as far back as the earliest civilizations, people have tattooed themselves to show their rank in society. According to historians, Egyptians used tattoos to distinguish between slaves and commoners. However in todays world tattoos are a form of expressing individuality. A tattoo can be anything including a picture, a quote, or a symbol. That may explain why tattoos had been becoming more popular over the years. A tattoo-lover is usually a person with a strong self-identity, or they should be so since a tattoo is a statement that they wear forever.
Furthermore, the reason society cant help but socialize through artifactual communication is because we all know first impressions are the ones that count the most. For example, if on the first day of school the professor is dressed informally one may get the assumption that he is a laid-back teacher. Or were one to meet a person at a bar with a tattoo that says “Peace