Changing communication ecologies in rural, peri-urban and urban Kenya

Abstract

This article aims to discuss changing media ecologies in rural, peri-urban and urban Kenya. The article is based on a comprehensive baseline survey of 799 individuals carried out in October 2014 in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. The survey recorded media access and media use in relation to demographic data. The findings suggest that media ecologies in rural, peri-urban as well as urban Kenya have undergone dramatic changes. The much hyped and unprecedented spread of mobile telephony has taken place simultaneously with the introduction of or increased access to radio and television, including satellite television. Different emerging communication ecologies can be identified, often with radio providing a solid foundation and combining in different ways with television and mobile phones. Even though mobile ownership, for example, has increased in all segments and areas, gender inequalities are reproduced in relation to mobile phone access especially in the rural areas, while in urban areas the inequalities are less significant. This pattern is also visible in connection with television and social media use, thereby highlighting the fact that the urban–rural and gender divides often intersect.

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