Geographies of youth, mobile phones, and the urban hustle.

Geographers have shown how mobile phones are transforming urban economies in Africa by altering the temporal and spatial nature of commercial transactions. Less well documented is how young people in Africa are using mobile phones to navigate the interplay between personal hopes, social expectations...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geographical Journal Vol. 186; no. 4; pp. 362 - 375
Main Authors: Amankwaa, Ebenezer Forkuo, Esson, James, Gough, Katherine V.
Format: Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Dec2020
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=147477018&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ssf
    uiTerm: 147477018
    longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson)
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        00167398
        GEO
      jtl: Geographical Journal
      issn: 00167398
      maglogo: Y
    pubinfo:
      dt: Dec2020
      vid: 186
      iid: 4
      pid: 480
      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
    artinfo:
      ui:
        147477018
        10.1111/geoj.12354
      ppf: 362
      ppct: 13
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
              db: hlh
              ui: 147477018
          – @attributes:
              type: P
              db: hlh
              ui: 147477018
      tig:
        atl: Geographies of youth, mobile phones, and the urban hustle.
      aug:
        au:
          Amankwaa, Ebenezer Forkuo
          Esson, James
          Gough, Katherine V.
        affil:
          Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
          Geography and Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
      su:
        Cell phones
        Urban economics
        Telecommunication & economics
        Economic conditions in Africa, 1960-
        Technology & economics
      sug:
        subj:
          Cell phones
          Urban economics
          Communication Equipment Repair and Maintenance
          All Other Telecommunications
          Other telecommunications
          Telecommunications Resellers
          Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite)
          Electronics Stores
          Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing
          Electronic components, navigational and communications equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers
          Telecommunication & economics
          Economic conditions in Africa, 1960-
          Technology & economics
      keyword:
        Africa
        economy
        mobile phones
        qualitative
        urban
        youth
        Africa
        economy
        mobile phones
        qualitative
        urban
        youth
      ab: Geographers have shown how mobile phones are transforming urban economies in Africa by altering the temporal and spatial nature of commercial transactions. Less well documented is how young people in Africa are using mobile phones to navigate the interplay between personal hopes, social expectations, and financial uncertainty associated with urban life. Drawing on qualitative data from youth in two Ghanaian cities, and insights from literature on youth geographies, hustling, and everyday urbanism, this paper explores how young people use mobile phones to conjure up and sustain social relations and income‐generating opportunities in urban settings. Three significant thematic findings emerge from our empirical data: the role of mobile phones in shaping young people's social status and responsibilities; the use of mobile phones as instruments for surveillance and relationships; and the use of mobile phone technologies as assets for realising income‐generating opportunities. Conceptually, our exploration of mobile phone usage furthers geographical scholarship by providing new insights on the multidimensional nature of constraints faced by youth and their strategies to overcome them. Furthermore, the incorporation of a comparative element within the study illustrates the need for a more spatially nuanced understanding of young people's uptake and use of mobile phone technologies.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: N
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N