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Intergenerational relations and the power of the cell phone: Perspectives on young people’s phone usage in sub-Saharan Africa

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dc.contributor.author Porter, Gina
dc.contributor.author Hampshire, Kate
dc.contributor.author Abane, Albert
dc.contributor.author Munthali, Alister
dc.contributor.author Robson, Elsbeth
dc.contributor.author Bango, Andisiwe
dc.contributor.author Ariane de Lannoy
dc.contributor.author Gunguluza, Nwabisa
dc.contributor.author Tanle, Augustine
dc.contributor.author Owusu, Samuel
dc.contributor.author Milner, James
dc.date.accessioned 2022-01-18T12:13:37Z
dc.date.available 2022-01-18T12:13:37Z
dc.date.issued 2015
dc.identifier.issn 23105496
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/7244
dc.description 10p:, ill. en_US
dc.description.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 en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher University of Cape Coast en_US
dc.subject Mobile phones en_US
dc.subject Generation en_US
dc.subject Young people en_US
dc.subject Ghana en_US
dc.subject Malawi en_US
dc.subject South Africa en_US
dc.title Intergenerational relations and the power of the cell phone: Perspectives on young people’s phone usage in sub-Saharan Africa en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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