Mobiles in Vietnam(According to Andrew Lam)

Andrew Lam*1 “Mobiles so popular that mediums call the dead” Shanghai Daily 14 January 2013*2


ヴェトナムにおけるケータイ事情。
少しメモ;


A ccouple years ago in the outskierts of Hanoi, I watched as a well-dressed, middle-aged woman burned apper offerings to her dead husband.
Along with traditional mock gold bars and horses, one item stood out: a paper cell phone.
(…) “Why are you burning a paper mobile?” I asked.
“So that in the spirit world he can have everything that we have now,” she answered matter-of-factly.

According to Techniasia, there are 140 mobile phones for every 100 Vietnamese. “For a country whose population is just over 90 million, that amounts to more than 130 million mobile phones,” notes Techniasia. By contrast, only 74 percent of Chinese have access to mobile phones, with one billion mobile users in 2012, according to Forbes magazine.
These days, the insiddious mobiule has invaded even the most sacred space in Vietnam – the Buddhist temple.
I went to one such temple to immerse myself in quiet meditation and incense smoke when, suddenly, the muffled theme of “Star Wars” chimed from a nearby monk's saffron robe. Buddha smiled down benevolently on us all, but the scowling abbot wasn't too pleased.
ケータイと宗族社会との関係;

For Vietnamese, the mobile phone is ultimately more than a status symbol.
Vietnamese are clannish, and for many, the family and extended family are all the social network they will ever have. Connecting to one another is more than just afad – it's a cultural imperative. Bonds are never to be broken and relationships are to be built upon continuously. The mobile phone facilitates that task quite well.
霊界との通信手段としてのケータイ;

I read in a newspaper in Hanoi about a popular young medium who talks to the dead. How does she reach them?
(…) she calls the dead on her mobile. No one else hear the ghosts but her, of course.
If her phone really does connect with the spirit world, I must say I find it regrettable. After all the stresses they suffered in life, the dead deserve some peace and quiet.
With the new technology and Vietnamese impulse to stay connected, however, they may be out of luck.
19世紀英国のスピリチュアリズムは無線通信テクノロジーの発明と関係があり、霊界(死者)とのコミュニケーションはモールス符号で行われることもあったのではなかったか。