Mobile phones, batteries and power consumption: An analysis of social practices in Portugal

The article examines how social practices of charging and managing the power of mobile phones are formed. The usefulness of the concept of distributed agency as a tool for the understanding of the dimensions that constitute social practices related to energy consumption is explored. Based on findings from interviews and a survey conducted with adolescents, three moments in the formation of these practices are identified: emergence of elementary battery use, acceleration of rhythm and establishment of links, and normalization. The article provides empirical evidence of the distributed agency of bodies, objects, and socio-cultural contexts in the development of these practices.