The Contributions of WhatsApp to Social Inclusion: A Case of Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper addresses the topic on how WhatsApp can improve the lives of internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by conflict. To theorize the complex relationship between mobile technologies and social inclusion, Sen's five distinct instrumental freedoms was drawn upon to understand the use of WhatsApp by IDPs affected by Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and its impact on their social inclusion. Based on a one-week fieldwork of an ongoing research, the case narrative presented both the freedom outcomes afforded theIDPs by the use of WhatsApp and also the impediments that hinder the developmental impact. Finally, we conclude by providing some implications for research and practice.