‘Travelling While Sitting Down’: Mobile Phones, Mobility and the Communication Landscape in Inhambane, Mozambique

Abstract

This article examines the ways in which young men in the city of Inhambane, southern Mozambique, harness communication to express and address experiences of constrained physical and social mobility. It starts with an analysis of a highly valued form of oral communication –bater papo– that youth, especially young men, engage in on a daily basis before turning to mobile phone use. Tying these different forms of communication together is a profound desire to claim membership of, and to participate in, a world that remains elusive for most. However, if mobile phone communication builds on pre-existent forms of communication, it takes on particular aesthetic qualities that speak of, rather than resolve, exclusion. The article argues that, while helping bridge distances in significant ways, mobile phone communication nonetheless, and somewhat ironically, also betrays young men's immobility.

Youth Livelihoods in the Cellphone Era: Perspectives from Urban Africa

“…This latter statement strongly resonates with Graham and Mlatsheni's () assessment of South African youth's difficulties: sadly, preliminary optimism in the early post‐school years is often replaced by hopelessness of ever finding work such that ‘actively discouraged’ youth not seeking work reportedly reach as high as 61 per cent in the 20–24 years cohort. The experience mirrors that of the young people in urban Mozambique and Kenya presented earlier (Archambault, ; Kibere, ). In South Africa, however, this reflects a somewhat different employment market context where the provision of quality education for the Black majority remains woefully poor, and there are few opportunities to obtain on‐the‐job training; ironically, the country has a shortfall of highly skilled labour and an oversupply of low‐skilled labour (Graham & Mlatsheni, , p. 53).…”

“…In‐depth research evidence specifically focused on phones in the context of urban young lives in Africa is limited but hardly encouraging. In small town Mozambique, Archambault (, pp. 394, 408) describes how ‘young men harness communication to express and address experiences of constrained physical and social mobility’ yet remain imprisoned within a space of frustration, pretence and thwarted dreams where ‘most are actually going nowhere’ (Archambault, , , p. 408).…”

“…In small town Mozambique, Archambault (, pp. 394, 408) describes how ‘young men harness communication to express and address experiences of constrained physical and social mobility’ yet remain imprisoned within a space of frustration, pretence and thwarted dreams where ‘most are actually going nowhere’ (Archambault, , , p. 408). In Nairobi's Kibera slum dwellings, youth similarly use the phone to ease communication and strengthen existent social ties, but Kibere () argues that these do not enable youth to bypass the hierarchical class‐based nature of Kenyan society (reinforcing earlier findings by Shrum et al ., ).…”

“…In the informal sector, employment is typically precarious: temporary, poorly paid, and offering poor work conditions. Hope flourishes, despite the evident frustrations of aspirant urban youth (Archambault, 2012;Chant & Jones, 2005;Hansen, 2005;Langevang & Gough, 2009;Mains, 2007;Weiss, 2005).…”

After the mines: the changing social and economic landscape of Malawi–South Africa migration

“…That bridewealth is not paid in this part of the country is no doubt a relevant factor here. ix For more on the impact of mobile telephony on the African continent, see, e.g., Archambault, J. S. (2012) and de Bruijn, et al (2009).…”