Postliteracy in the digital age: The use of mobile phones to support literacy practices in Namibia and Tanzania

Abstract

This article focuses on individuals emerging from traditional oral cultures with limited education and few economic resources who use mobile telephones to maintain their writing and communication skills, despite the scarcity of reading materials, or a lack of social, economic, political, and cultural incentives. Drawing on two case studies—one of previously disenfranchized citizens participating in a national dialogue in Namibia and one of entrepreneurial women in Tanzania—the authors examine postliteracy practices in adults’ everyday lives, probe these innovative uses of mobile applications, and thus aim to understand the context of the mobile literacy environment. They find that for individuals with limited literacy skills, these phones and applications can offer a vital resource for postliteracy practices, one that gives them a better chance of maintaining and enhancing their previously acquired literacy skills.