Manifestations, Drivers, and Frictions of Mobile Phone Use in Low- and Middle-Income Settings: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Rural India and China

Against the backdrop of alleged mobile phone ubiquity and the enthusiasm about the developmental value of mobile technology, this paper examines the manifestations, drivers, and frictions of mobile phone use in two low- and middle-income settings where mobile technology has diffused rapidly. Qualitative data from 231 participants and survey data from 800 adults in rural Rajasthan and Gansu provide consistent and strong support for the claim that the notion of ‘ubiquity’ can mislead development practice because it obscures persistent non-use, under-utilisation, and heterogeneous engagement with mobile technology despite its apparently wide accessibility in rural field sites. The paper suggests avenues for further work on the indicators of technology adoption, and it cautions that phone-based development interventions (and their benefits) may diffuse unevenly if the assumption of ubiquitous technology use is violated.

在所谓手机普及论甚嚣尘上，且学界对移动技术的发展价值抱有高度热忱的背景下，本研究考察了移动技术快速扩散的两个中低收入地区中，手机使用的具体表现、驱动因素与阻碍因素。针对印度拉贾斯坦邦与中国甘肃省农村地区的231名受访者的质性数据，以及800名成年人群的调研数据，为下述论断提供了坚实且一致的支撑：‘普及性（ubiquity）’这一概念可能误导发展实践——尽管移动技术在上述农村实地调研场景中看似普及率颇高，但该概念掩盖了持续存在的不使用、使用不足，以及用户与移动技术之间参差不齐的互动情况。本研究提出了可进一步开展技术采用指标相关研究的方向，并提醒道：若违背‘技术使用普及化’这一假设，基于手机的发展干预措施（及其带来的收益）的推广可能会出现不均衡的情况。