Intergenerational relations and the power of the cell phone

Perspectives on young people’s phone usage in sub-Saharan Africa

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8945974
AutoresG Porter (0000-0002-3672-1534, Durham University, autor de correspondencia), K Hampshire (0000-0003-4184-849X, Durham University), Albert Abane (Durham University), Alister Munthali (0000-0002-3495-3446, Durham University), Elsbeth Robson (0000-0003-3513-460X, Durham University), Andisiwe Bango (Durham University), Ariane De Lannoy (0000-0001-8729-3245, Durham University), Nwabisa Gunguluza (Durham University), Augustine Tanle (0000-0002-3551-1076, Durham University), Samuel Asiedu Owusu (0000-0002-9249-6036, Durham University), Samuel Owusu (0000-0001-7866-7882), Jillian Milner (0000-0003-1467-3719, Durham University), James Milner (0000-0002-1461-4615)
Año2015
Volumen64
Páginas37-46
Fecha de publicación2015-06-10
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaGeoforum (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0016-7185 • E-ISSN: 1872-9398
EditorialElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.06.002
OpenAlexW622566965
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas16
Referencias citadas22

Cell phones present new forms of sociality and new possibilities of encounter for young people across the globe. Nowhere is this more evident than in sub-Saharan Africa where the scale of usage, even among the very poor, is remarkable. In this paper we reflect on the inter-generational encounters which are embedded in young people’s cell phone interactions, and consider the wider societal implications, not least the potential for associated shifts in the generational balance of power. An intriguing feature of this changing generational nexus is that while many young people’s phone-based interactions, from their mid-teens onwards, are shifting away from the older generation towards friendship networks in their own age cohort, at the same time they are repositioning themselves – or becoming repositioned – as family information hubs, as a consequence of their phone expertise. The paper draws on mixed-methods research with young people aged c. 9–25 years and in-depth interviews with older age-groups in 24 sites (ranging from high density poor urban to remote rural) across Ghana, Malawi and South Africa

Economic growth · Economics · Linguistics · Mobile phone · Phone · Power (physics · Sociology · Telecommunications · Child Development and Digital Technology · Computer Science · ICT in Developing Communities · Impact of Technology on Adolescents