Geographies of youth, mobile phones, and the urban hustle

Abstract

Geographers have shown how mobile phones are transforming urban economies in Africa by altering the temporal and spatial nature of commercial transactions. Less well documented is how young people in Africa are using mobile phones to navigate the interplay between personal hopes, social expectations, and financial uncertainty associated with urban life. Drawing on qualitative data from youth in two Ghanaian cities, and insights from literature on youth geographies, hustling, and everyday urbanism, this paper explores how young people use mobile phones to conjure up and sustain social relations and income-generating opportunities in urban settings. Three significant thematic findings emerge from our empirical data: the role of mobile phones in shaping young people's social status and responsibilities; the use of mobile phones as instruments for surveillance and relationships; and the use of mobile phone technologies as assets for realising income-generating opportunities. Conceptually, our exploration of mobile phone usage furthers geographical scholarship by providing new insights on the multidimensional nature of constraints faced by youth and their strategies to overcome them. Furthermore, the incorporation of a comparative element within the study illustrates the need for a more spatially nuanced understanding of young people's uptake and use of mobile phone technologies.

Boys are tired! Youth, urban struggles, and retaliatory patriarchy

“…Boys are tired because relationships are deemed transactional, and they either cannot afford to enter into negotiations, or find themselves constantly looking over their shoulder as they are worried someone else will come and strike a better deal with their wife or girlfriend (cf. Amankwaa et al., 2020; Bhana & Pattman, 2011). Boys are tired of a political system that positions youth as agents of change with the stipulation they are mobilised and act on terms dictated by their male elders (cf.…”

‘The show must go on!’: Hustling through the compounded precarity of Covid-19 in the creative industries

“…Within the geography literature, hustling has been most strongly associated with young people navigating uncertainty in African urban environments ( Amankwaa et al, 2020 , Munive, 2010 , Muthoni Mwaura, 2017 , Thieme, 2013 , Thieme, 2015 , Thieme, 2018 ), and how they “seize opportunities to navigate uncertainty, earn an income, and follow‐up desired aspirations or occupational choices” ( Amankwaa et al, 2020, p. 364 ). Through hustling, marginalized workers—whether marginalized by age, poverty, race, gender, or other attribute—claim the space to work and succeed on their own terms ( Thieme, 2013 ).…”

“…In this article, we empirically focus on and theorize the most prevalent practice of navigating, coping with, and managing compounded precarity: that of hustling. When focussing on hustling, the analytical attention is put on the hopeful, resourceful, and inventive actions workers in precarious contexts take to create meaningful lives in spite of daunting economic hardships and health emergencies ( Thieme, 2018 , Amankwaa et al, 2020 , Chułek, 2020 ). We, thus, theorize the resourcefulness, improvisation, and savviness displayed by creative workers not merely as a survival reaction, but an agentic effort to turn the vicissitudes of life into both individual and communal advantage and opportunity.…”

Comparison of a Tablet Versus Computer-Based Classical Theatre Game Among 8–13 Year Children

“…First, they are more familiar with their user experience since they use them every day [29]. Secondly, they may perceive mobile devices to be more modern than PCs 1 [30].…”