The impact of mobile phones on young people's lives and life chances in sub-Saharan Africa: a three country study to inform policy and practice

这项研究以信息和通信技术与发展为主题，考察了移动电话对非洲年轻人的生活、生活机会和福祉的影响。移动电话技术的迅速普及提供了令人振奋的发展潜力，但人们越来越担心对穷人可能产生的负面影响。我们的目标是提供一个实质性的证据基础，以显示移动电话的使用如何影响三个国家(加纳、马拉维、南非)9-25岁的年轻人。利用以儿童为中心的混合方法，我们将能够审查对教育、卫生、社会网络、求职、就业、参与社会运动和政治进程、代际关系、虚拟社会取代实际流动和移徙的影响，并探索贫困轨迹的更广泛影响(注意性别、家庭构成和地点对结果的影响)。2006-2008年，我们将在加纳、马拉维和南非的24个地点开展以前的混合方法、以儿童为中心的儿童流动性研究，其中包括70名11-19岁的年轻人作为联合研究人员(例如Hampshire等人)。2011a，2011b；Porter等人，2010a-e，2011a-c正在出版；Robson等人，2009年)。这项研究主要关注9-18岁青少年的日常身体活动能力，但也指出了年轻人使用手机的迅速增长，以及手机调节身体活动能力的潜力。因此，我们收集了关于电话使用(频率、所有权、用途；按性别、年龄、家庭组成)的初步定性数据和基线定量数据(N=2967)，以及相关的背景材料。我们将在2012-14年度在相同的实地地点重复2006-2008年的研究方法(尽管不一定与相同的答复者)。方法包括与年轻人、其父母、教师和其他主要信息提供者进行深入访谈和小组讨论，以及在每个国家的两个农业生态区的四种不同住区类型(城市、城市周边、农村和偏远农村)进行问卷调查。通过在相同地点的重复调查和详细的定性研究，我们将能够构建一个关于2006-2008年至2012-14年(使用率和空间普及率迅速扩大的关键6年期间)非洲青年手机使用模式变化的独特比较数据集。我们还将在2012-14年度扩大研究重点，a)也包括19-25岁的人群，即6岁以上的年长人群，以记录随着这个年龄段的许多人进入20多岁而不断变化的使用情况及其影响，以及b)包括关于移动电话在年轻生活中的作用和影响的更深入的研究。新的主题将包括在求职、就业、教育、卫生、政治参与、资金转移、宽带电话互联网接入、故意不使用移动电话以及使用移动电话对赋权(实际和感知的潜力)、个人网络(例如空间延伸的家庭)、网络发展、监测、代际关系、移民、取代有形(包括机动)流动性、剥削/欺凌和地位问题的影响。这将提供强有力的证据基础，使我们能够确定有助于促进移动电话采用的积极因素并将潜在的负面影响降至最低的战略，并使整个非洲的政策制定者和从业人员对这些发现保持敏感。在整个过程中，我们将采取以青年为中心的参与性方法，与青年共同合作(正如我们在2006-2008年所做的那样)，即将青年(当时正在上学，现在在某些情况下失业)纳入2006-2008年接受儿童流动性研究培训的(70名)儿童研究人员之列。在可能的情况下，他们将参加实地研究(特别是实地试点)、协调小组和最后审查讲习班。我们还将聘请20多岁的学术研究助理(研究生)。

This research, focused on the theme ICTs and development, examines the impact of mobile phones on young people's lives, life chances and well-being in Africa. The rapid diffusion of mobile phone technology offers exciting developmental potential, but concerns about possible negative impacts on poor people are growing. We aim to provide a substantial evidence base to show how mobile phone use is impacting on young people aged 9-25 years in three countries (Ghana, Malawi, South Africa). Utilising a mixed-method, child-centred approach, we will be able to examine impacts on education, health, social networks, job search, employment, participation in social movements and the political process, inter-generational relations, substitution of virtual for physical mobility and migration, and explore the broader implications for poverty trajectories (paying attention to effects of gender, household composition and location on outcomes). We will build on our previous mixed-method, child-centred, child mobility research in 24 sites across Ghana, Malawi and South Africa in 2006-8 which included 70 young people aged 11-19 as co-researchers (e.g. Hampshire et al. 2011a, 2011b; Porter et al., 2010a-e, 2011a-c in press; Robson et al., 2009). That study focused principally on daily physical mobility of 9-18 year olds, but indicated rapidly growing mobile phone adoption by young people and the potential of mobile phones to mediate physical mobility. Consequently, we collected preliminary qualitative data and baseline quantitative data (N=2,967) on phone usage (frequency, ownership, purpose; by gender, age, household composition), and associated background material. We will repeat our 2006-8 study approach in 2012-14, in the same field sites (though not necessarily with the same respondents). Methods include in-depth interviews and group discussions with young people, their parents, teachers and other key informants, and a questionnaire survey in four different settlement types (urban, peri-urban, rural and remote rural) in two agro-ecological zones per country. Through repeat survey and detailed qualitative research in the same sites we will be able to construct a unique comparative dataset on changing patterns of youth phone usage in Africa between 2006-8 and 2012-14 (a critical 6 year period of rapid expansion in adoption and spatial penetration). We will also extend the research focus in 2012-14, a) to also include those aged 19-25 i.e. our older cohort, 6 years on, to capture changing usage and its impacts as many in this age group move into their 20s, and b) to include much more intensive research on the role and impact of mobile phones in young lives. New themes will include use of mobile phones in job search, employment, education, health, political participation, money transfer, broad-band phone internet access, deliberate mobile phone non-use and impacts of usage on empowerment (actual and perceived potential), personal networks (e.g re spatially stretched households), network development, surveillance, inter-generational relations, migration, substitution for physical (including motor) mobility, exploitation/bullying and status issues. This will provide a strong evidence base, enabling us to identify strategies which can help promote the positive elements of mobile phone adoption and minimise potentially negative impacts and to sensitise policy makers and practitioners to these findings across Africa. Throughout, we will take a youth-centred participatory approach, working with young people as co-collaborators (as we did in 2006-8), i.e. including young people (then school-going, now in some cases unemployed) who were among the (70) child researchers trained in the child mobility study in 2006-8. Where available, they will participate in field studies (particularly field pilots), CCGs and the final review workshop. We will also employ academic research assistants (post-graduate students) in their 20s.