‘Our old pastor thinks the mobile phone is a source of evil.’ Capturing contested and conflicting insights on digital wellbeing and digital detoxing in an age of rapid mobile connectivity

Abstract

While Africa has largely been considered a digitally-disconnected country, recent studies have shown that connectivity figures are on a rise. In this paper, we theorize digital wellbeing in a context characterized by a fast-growing number of mobile data users despite a historically low Internet penetration. It is focused on an ongoing ethnographic research on mobile users and digital inequalities in Africa, zooming in on results from an explorative study featuring 10 in-depth interviews with young adult heavy users (more than 4–5 hours a day) and seeking to understand strategies they use in attaining digital wellbeing. The findings show how the sampled young adults (18–30 years old) struggle with the daily realities of digital participation including addiction and generational conflict in technology use. Results also reveal ways through which electronic connectivity is perceived both be a tool of freedom as well as a subtle form of potential digital enslavering.

When digital inequalities meet digital disconnection: Studying the material conditions of disconnection in rural Turkey

“…Kadir23, for example, said he disconnects only when he gets bored of social media. This is similar to what Mutsvairo et al (2022) have found in Zimbabwe where people usually do not consider digital technologies addictive even though they spend long time on the screen. Also, being connected to internet is not always the case as some spend more time with offline games and movies.…”

“…The meaning of digital disconnection can be different for those who cannot sustain a secure connection compared to those who take constant and reliable connectivity for granted (Treré, 2021). For example, a recent study shows that digital well-being concerns in countries considered disconnected, such as Zimbabwe, are common among young adults (Mutsvairo et al, 2022). Another study among university students in Turkey illustrates that 54.5% of students think they have digital addiction (Akbulut Zencirci et al, 2018).…”

“…Hence, the meanings and motivations of digital disconnection remains mostly understudied in digitally unequal regions and remote places where disconnection is not a given but a privilege (Treré 2021). Yet, in regions which are considered disconnected, digital well-being concerns has also emerged (Mutsvairo et al, 2022). Geographic isolation, lack of education and transportation, and economic activities have been some of the major factors for digital disengagement in rural areas (Correa and Pavez, 2016), while culture is also an important factor (Pavez et al, 2017).…”