Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2571
Title: Intergenerational relations and the power of the cell phone: Perspectives on young people’s phone usage in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Tanle, Augustine
Abane, Albert
Owusu, Samuel
Keywords: Mobile phones
Generation
Young people
Ghana
Malawi
South Africa
Issue Date: 2015
Publisher: University of Cape Coast
Abstract: Cell phones present new forms of sociality and new possibilities of encounter for young people across the globe. Nowhere is this more evident than in sub-Saharan Africa where the scale of usage, even among the very poor, is remarkable. In this paper we reflect on the inter-generational encounters which are embedded in young people’s cell phone interactions, and consider the wider societal implications, not least the potential for associated shifts in the generational balance of power. An intriguing feature of this changing generational nexus is that while many young people’s phone-based interactions, from their mid-teens onwards, are shifting away from the older generation towards friendship networks in their own age cohort, at the same time they are repositioning themselves – or becoming repositioned – as family information hubs, as a consequence of their phone expertise. The paper draws on mixed-methods research with young people aged c. 9–25 years and in-depth interviews with older age-groups in 24 sites (ranging from high density poor urban to remote rural) across Ghana, Malawi and South Africa.
Description: 10p, ill.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2571
Appears in Collections:Department of Geography & Regional Planning

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
Tanle et al 2015 2.pdfArticle305.17 kBAdobe PDFView/Open


Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.