Look how it moves! The trend in mobile consumption in Argentina.

To have or not to have a smartphone, that is the question. Technological dependence, global connection, the new online routines and virtual relationships are the foundation of a society that, more and more, feeds on digital exchange.

Argentina stands on the podium of Latin American countries with the greatest proliferation of smart devices, alongside Brazil and Mexico.  “The Argentine consumer stands out for embracing technology quickly, because it lets them do more and more things. We believe the mobile device is becoming the first screen”, said Carolina Bertoni, mobile and social media advertising specialist at Google for Spanish-speaking America.

“While in the first half of 2011 smartphones accounted for 21% of the total, they grew to 40% in 2012 and are expected to reach 50% of the domestic market by the end of 2013”, reported the Asociación de Fábricas Argentinas Terminales de Electrónica (AFARTE).

Another way to visualize this growth is through the number of mobile lines that exist in Argentina: 58 and a half million, according to INDEC (Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos), of which 37 million are active.  The explanation: for 5 pesos we can buy a prepaid phone line at a kiosk and use it in any handset.

We associate the level of “consumption” with a person’s income level and their class standing, but there are indicators that jump over these patterns and become codes of “belonging”. And just as “brand-name” sneakers once were, today smartphones are. No matter how, owning one is part of being part and that is what counts.

Students, parking attendants, taxi drivers, doctors, bricklayers, accountants, journalists, designers, politicians, teachers: smartphones have become an indispensable accessory in society’s everyday life, with no distinction of class or profession.