Social practices and mobile phone use of young migrant workers

Abstract

To explore opportunities for technology adoption in emerging markets, we conducted ethnographic studies to understand the social practices and technology use of young migrant workers in China. In total twenty-six young migrant workers, aged 19-28, were interviewed and/or shadowed in three cities (Beijing, Hangzhou, and Xi'an). We found that social practices play a significant role in the life of the research participants, who live in stressful and unfriendly urban environments and have a lower social status than urban residents. Moreover, we found that these social practices act as a primary driver for mobile phones adoption and use. Personal mobile phones were quickly adopted and frequently used to initiate, maintain and enhance social connections, as well as the quality of social practices. Based on the research findings, we discuss several design directions for making mobile phones play a greater role in social practices.