Mobile phones and core network growth in Kenya: Strengthening weak ties

Shrum, Wesley; Mbatia, Paul N.; Palackal, Antony; Dzorgbo, Dan-Bright S.; Duque, Ricardo B.; Ynalvez, Marcus Antonius

doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2010.09.015

Cited by 34 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The only exception was the elderly couple who shared a phone. This level of cellphone adoption is not surprising and echoes other researchers' findings [17,43]. Beyond that, we sought out more nuanced details, finding for example, that spotty network coverage in remote areas occasionally results in "dropped calls" but that other unexpected obstacles associated with persistent poverty and the lack of electricity endemic in rural areas are larger concerns.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Findings from our fieldwork confirm results from prior studies of mobile phones in the rural developing world [23,31,43] and reveal differences: mobile phone applications designed for one rural context (i.e., India [27]), are unsuitable for another. Our findings also suggest new research opportunities in sustainable HCI [24,39], such as studying existing sustainable ICT practices in rural Africa.…”

Section: Implications For Design and Researchsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…In Kenya an estimated 67% of the population live outside of the country's major urban areas of Nairobi (the capital), Mombasa, and Kisumu-places where hard-wired internet reached only in 2009 [16,43]. This population differs from the urban areas: they tend to be older, less educated and less informed about the latest ICTs compared to their urban counterparts [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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"Dead China-make" phones off the grid

Wyche

Murphy

2012

Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference

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Mobile phone users in rural parts of the developing world, especially Africa, adapt to lack of electricity, poverty, remote locations, unpredictable services, and second-hand technology. Meanwhile, the technology developers are forging ahead, designing for "smartphones," high-speed data packets, and Internet access, not the "dumb" phones and parsimonious voice calls of the rural householder. We draw from fieldwork in Kenya with mobile phone owners to relate specific practices and issues facing rural users. Problems such as "spoiled" phone batteries and "Chinamakes" suggest larger design implications. We use our findings to motivate a design agenda for the rural poor built on the assumption of off-grid use and limited power, simple cheap phones, and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) protocol. A key part of this agenda calls for developing usable technologies aimed at the infrastructure rather than mobile phone interface level.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Implications For Design and Researchsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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"Dead China-make" phones off the grid

Wyche

Murphy

2012

Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference

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“…This resonates with the reviewed study of middle-class Kenyans that established that the mobile phone strengthens existent weak ties (Shrum et al, 2011). Weak ties are an "individual's loosely connected acquaintances who are less likely to know each other than strong ties who exist in a stronger and more connected friendship circle.…”

Section: The Paradox Of Mobilitysupporting

confidence: 58%

The Paradox of Mobility in the Kenyan ICT Ecosystem: An Ethnographic Case of How the Youth in Kibera Slum Use and Appropriate the Mobile Phone and the Mobile Internet

Kibere

2016

Information Technology for Development

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The Kenyan ICT ecosystem has attracted vast global media and policy attention because of notable mobile phone adoption in the country. However, empirical research of how Kenyans use and appropriate new media and ICTs in the diverse contexts within the country remains limited. In order to contribute to the emerging literature on Sub-Saharan Africa ICT ecosystems as well as the Mobility discussions within Mobiles for Development M4D and Information and Communication Technologies for Development ICT4D, this paper discusses an empirical case of how the youth of Kibera use and appropriate the mobile phone and the mobile Internet. The purpose of this critical realist ethnographic research article is to explicate the events in the historical development of the Kenyan ICT ecosystem as well as the components of social and physical structure in Kibera slum along with the relationships between them. This paper argues that the mobile phone eases communication and strengthens existent social ties for the youth of Kibera.

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“…Hard-wired Internet reached rural parts of Kenya in 2009 [16,41], so it is unsurprising that some participants had not yet accessed Facebook and referred to it as a "new thing." Yet their familiarity with and desire to learn more about Facebook reveals how the idea of online social networks has reached those most affected by the digital divide, even if the infrastructures to support it has not kept pace.…”

Section: Participants Not Using Facebookmentioning

confidence: 99%

"Facebook is a luxury"

Wyche

Schoenebeck

Forte

2013

Proceedings of the 2013 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work

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Facebook use is pervasive in developed countries where computers, smartphones, high-bandwidth Internet, and electricity are ubiquitous. In this paper, we examine Facebook use in a country where social media participation is growing, but less developed technological infrastructures and uneven access to technology limit use. We conducted observations and 24 interviews at Internet cafés in rural Kenya. Our findings reveal how costs associated with using the Internet, limited access to computers and smartphones and unreliable electricity hinder online participation. We draw on these results to discuss the critical role of constraints in understanding social media use, to raise questions about broadening online participation and to highlight ethical issues researchers must consider when studying Facebook use in developing regions.

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Mobile phones and core network growth in Kenya: Strengthening weak ties

Cited by 34 publications

References 22 publications

"Dead China-make" phones off the grid

"Dead China-make" phones off the grid

The Paradox of Mobility in the Kenyan ICT Ecosystem: An Ethnographic Case of How the Youth in Kibera Slum Use and Appropriate the Mobile Phone and the Mobile Internet

"Facebook is a luxury"

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