Mobile Media (Non-)Use as Expression of Agency

Abstract

The literature on mobile media and marginalized groups has focused on the use of mobile media as an agentic, visible, and varied process related to individual empowerment.Conversely, non-use is often presupposed to be a passive, invisible condition imposed by sociostructural forces. Our paper challenges this binary, positing that mobile media (non-)use can be an expression of agency motivated in response to structural constraints. We posit that (non-)use strategies span two dimensions: contextual-absolute and visible-invisible. Firstly, (non-)use does not always involve the complete absence of mobile media and may manifest in gradations that vary by sociostructural context. Secondly, certain (non-)use strategies may be less visible, and in turn, less likely to invite a sociostructural response, while more visible strategies risk inviting retaliation. We apply this conceptual lens to the context of cisfeminine (n = 17) and transfeminine (n = 17) sex workers in Singapore, who experience intersectional marginalization due to their gender identity, occupation, and migrant status. From our interviews, we develop a provisional typology of mobile media (non-)use strategies that offers insight into the complexities of (non-)use strategies in leading to (dis)empowerment and social transformation.

Dispositions of dis/trust: Fourth-wave mobile communication for a world in flux

“…Therefore, social inclusion within mobile networks is implicitly valorized. Research has foregrounded how decisions to abstain from mobile use in various ways and to varying degrees constitute agentic strategies to manage sociostructural demands of mobile communication (Chib et al, 2021; Chan, 2018).…”

“…However, contemporary research notes digital Gemeinschaft as not truly a space for mutual participation and collective action but as stratified along extant sociostructural hierarchies, such as class, race, and gender. Scholars have foregrounded how social positions and circumstances can affect what mobile strategies users feasibly choose to negotiate their (power-laden) relationships (Chib et al, 2021; Pei and Chib, 2020). Indeed, the very mechanisms of mobile-facilitated digital Gemeinschaft that maintain social cohesion (e.g.…”

“…Pioneering scholar Rich Ling (2014), drawing on Ferdinand Tönnies, termed this phenomenon the "digital Gemeinschaft"-social solidarity characterized by friendship, intimacy, emotions, and tradition-a mode of social organization viewed as an ideal of modern society, as opposed to transactional and bureaucratized relationships driven solely by rational self-interest (Gesellschaft). This idealized narrative of social inclusion has been extended to suggest the importance of mobile practices for marginalized populations (Chib et al, 2021), such as refugees.…”

Using browser data to understand desires to spend time online.

“…Recent qualitative research has drawn attention to individuals who have expressed desires to regulate their digital technology use (Grady et al, 2022;Marder et al, 2016;Orhan et al, 2021;Reinecke et al, 2022) and, for some, disconnect from modern digital technologies like the internet or social media (Chib et al, 2021;Jorge, 2019;Nguyen, 2021;Portwood-Stacer, 2013). Considering this, a growing body of research now focuses on the practices, motivations for, and effects of deliberate reduced or nonuse of digital technologies (Hardey & Atkinson, 2018;Kuntsman & Miyake, 2019;Lomborg & Ytre-Arne, 2021;Natale & Treré, 2020).…”

“…To inform such theoretical approaches, in addition to focusing on the motivations and strategies that people use to regulate their digital technology usage (Chib et al, 2021;Nguyen, 2021;Parry et al, 2020), researchers have examined empirical evidence for positive or negative links between digital technology use and well-being (Dickson et al, 2018;Meier & Reinecke, 2021). Progress in this regard has, however, been stymied by the absence of clear results and by debate over the meaning of study findings.…”