Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study
The rapid adoption of mobile phones, particularly in developing countries, has led a number of researchers to investigate their impact on socioeconomic activity in the developing world. However, until the recent advent of smart communication devices, mobile phones were primarily a relations manageme...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cogitatio
2020-05-01
|
| Series: | Social Inclusion |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2592 |
| _version_ | 1811220225110048768 |
|---|---|
| author | Alain Shema Martha Garcia-Murillo |
| author_facet | Alain Shema Martha Garcia-Murillo |
| author_sort | Alain Shema |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The rapid adoption of mobile phones, particularly in developing countries, has led a number of researchers to investigate their impact on socioeconomic activity in the developing world. However, until the recent advent of smart communication devices, mobile phones were primarily a relations management technology that enabled people to stay connected with each other. In this article, we focus on this basic function and analyze how people use this technology as a tool to expand their social capital. We use a dataset containing more than three billion call detail records from Rwanda’s largest telecommunication operator, covering the whole country during the period from 1 July 2014 to 31 March 2015, and combine these records with data from the fourth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda in 2015. We found that people’s calling patterns significantly correlated with the income level of their region, which also dictated the destinations of their calls, with middle-income regions acting as a link between the richest and the poorest regions. From these results, we propose a framework for understanding the role of mobile phones in the development of social capital. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T07:38:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9f80c62bcc9c4dd9abb19515b73e8b2b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2183-2803 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T07:38:13Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Inclusion |
| spelling | doaj.art-9f80c62bcc9c4dd9abb19515b73e8b2b2022-12-22T03:41:53ZengCogitatioSocial Inclusion2183-28032020-05-018216817910.17645/si.v8i2.25921426Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case StudyAlain Shema0Martha Garcia-Murillo1School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, USASchool of Information Studies, Syracuse University, USAThe rapid adoption of mobile phones, particularly in developing countries, has led a number of researchers to investigate their impact on socioeconomic activity in the developing world. However, until the recent advent of smart communication devices, mobile phones were primarily a relations management technology that enabled people to stay connected with each other. In this article, we focus on this basic function and analyze how people use this technology as a tool to expand their social capital. We use a dataset containing more than three billion call detail records from Rwanda’s largest telecommunication operator, covering the whole country during the period from 1 July 2014 to 31 March 2015, and combine these records with data from the fourth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda in 2015. We found that people’s calling patterns significantly correlated with the income level of their region, which also dictated the destinations of their calls, with middle-income regions acting as a link between the richest and the poorest regions. From these results, we propose a framework for understanding the role of mobile phones in the development of social capital.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2592call detail recordsmobile phonestelecommunicationsnetwork analysispovertyrwandasocial capital |
| spellingShingle | Alain Shema Martha Garcia-Murillo Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study Social Inclusion call detail records mobile phones telecommunications network analysis poverty rwanda social capital |
| title | Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
| title_full | Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
| title_short | Do Mobile Phones Help Expand Social Capital? An Empirical Case Study |
| title_sort | do mobile phones help expand social capital an empirical case study |
| topic | call detail records mobile phones telecommunications network analysis poverty rwanda social capital |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2592 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alainshema domobilephoneshelpexpandsocialcapitalanempiricalcasestudy AT marthagarciamurillo domobilephoneshelpexpandsocialcapitalanempiricalcasestudy |