Mobile phone adoption and usage : an analysis of social, cultural and economic factors in Gauteng’s informal settlements

Abstract: Mobile phones have become an indispensable item in people’s lives. This study examines the social, cultural, economic and political factors of mobile phone adoption and usage, with a focus on Thembelihle informal settlement, South Johannesburg. There has been a high rate of adoption of mobile phones by people from all walks of life. The GSMA report of 2017 on accelerating affordable smartphone ownership indicates that there are more than four billion smartphone connections globally, nearly double the number only three years earlier (GSMA, 2017:2). Previous work has failed to investigate factors that lead poor people to adopt mobile phones, given the cost of buying and using them, and their use in everyday contexts. This study examines reasons for the adoption of mobile phones by people who are considered poor, how they use these phones in their everyday lives, and how their use is novel and unique. This study adopts Feenberg’s (1995) Critical Theory of Technology as a theoretical framework to show how people have appropriated the mobile phone through instrumentalisation to enable it to serve their needs. A mixed methods design was used to carry out the research. Data was collected through interviews and focus group discussions. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Findings from the study reveal that there is near universal adoption of mobile phones by residents. Unlike in other parts of Africa, age, gender, education and income levels have no significant bearing on adoption of the phones. The usage characteristics reveal that the phones are used primarily for calls and networking, and residents have circumvented the problem of high cost via customization of ‘Please call me’ messages and beeping. The residents’ use of phones for political purposes is limited, yet they are willing to use theirmobile phones more for participation in civic and local government affairs.D.Phil. (Development Studies