Assessment of the community’s technological literacy in the use of mobile phones for rural development

Abstract

ABSTRACT Access and use of mobile phones by communities in rural areas is a topical issue in different countries. However, there has been limited empirical literature to account for mobile phone use in rural areas for development and lifelong learning. This study employed the data which were collected from 66 phone users in rural areas to report on their technological literacy in the use of mobile phones. The data were generated through questionnaires, focus group discussions and practical tests. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were employed to analyse the data. The analysis revealed that the majority of adults in rural communities could use mobile phones through voice calls and short messages only. Only a few of them could use mobile phones to access internet services. Financial transactions and searching for information on weather, health, politics and businesses were challenging to them. This led to the conclusion that rural communities need to be empowered to access internet services through mobile phones to enhance their socio-economic development activities. It is recommended that technological literacy programmes on the use of mobile phones and the internet to maximise productivity be implemented in rural communities that are mostly farmers and producers of raw materials.