Mobile phones and wrong numbers: how Maasai agro-pastoralists form and use accidental social ties in East Africa
Mobile phones are recognized as important new tools for rural development in the Global South, but few studies have examined how phones can shape social networks. This study documents a new type of social tie, enabled by mobile phones, that to our knowledge has not previously been discussed in acade...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Resilience Alliance
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol26/iss2/art41/ |
| _version_ | 1798033054495670272 |
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| author | Timothy D. Baird J. Terrence McCabe Emily Woodhouse Isaya Rumas Stephen Sankeni Gabriel Ole. Saitoti |
| author_facet | Timothy D. Baird J. Terrence McCabe Emily Woodhouse Isaya Rumas Stephen Sankeni Gabriel Ole. Saitoti |
| author_sort | Timothy D. Baird |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mobile phones are recognized as important new tools for rural development in the Global South, but few studies have examined how phones can shape social networks. This study documents a new type of social tie, enabled by mobile phones, that to our knowledge has not previously been discussed in academic literature. In 2018, we discovered that Maasai pastoralists in northern Tanzania create new social ties through wrong numbers, a phenomenon with implications for theory on social networks and path dependency. We used a mixed ethnographic and survey-based design to examine the following: (1) the conditions under which wrong number connections (WNCs) are made; (2) the incidence of these connections in the study area; and (3) the association between WNCs and multiple livelihood strategies. Working in 10 rural communities in Tanzania, we conducted 16 group interviews with men about their phone use and found that WNCs are diverse and can provide households with important information, resources, and opportunities from an expansive geographic area. (Nine separate interviews with groups of women revealed that women do not create WNCs.) Based on early qualitative findings, we designed and conducted a standardized survey with 317 household heads. We found that 46% of respondents have had WNCs. Furthermore, multivariate regression models show a significant association between WNCs and the controversial practice of leasing land in one district. Taken together, our findings show that WNCs can be seen as innovations in social networking that reduce path dependency, increase the range of potential outcomes, and hold important implications for rural livelihoods in East Africa. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T20:23:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c35e031d1b084a05a5776c071e155a7d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1708-3087 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T20:23:07Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-c35e031d1b084a05a5776c071e155a7d2022-12-22T04:04:45ZengResilience AllianceEcology and Society1708-30872021-06-012624110.5751/ES-12528-26024112528Mobile phones and wrong numbers: how Maasai agro-pastoralists form and use accidental social ties in East AfricaTimothy D. Baird0J. Terrence McCabe1Emily Woodhouse2Isaya Rumas3Stephen Sankeni4Gabriel Ole. Saitoti5Virginia Tech, Department of GeographyUniversity of Colorado Boulder, Institute of Behavioral ScienceUniversity College London, Department of AnthropologySavanna Land Use Project, TanzaniaSavanna Land Use Project, TanzaniaSavanna Land Use Project, TanzaniaMobile phones are recognized as important new tools for rural development in the Global South, but few studies have examined how phones can shape social networks. This study documents a new type of social tie, enabled by mobile phones, that to our knowledge has not previously been discussed in academic literature. In 2018, we discovered that Maasai pastoralists in northern Tanzania create new social ties through wrong numbers, a phenomenon with implications for theory on social networks and path dependency. We used a mixed ethnographic and survey-based design to examine the following: (1) the conditions under which wrong number connections (WNCs) are made; (2) the incidence of these connections in the study area; and (3) the association between WNCs and multiple livelihood strategies. Working in 10 rural communities in Tanzania, we conducted 16 group interviews with men about their phone use and found that WNCs are diverse and can provide households with important information, resources, and opportunities from an expansive geographic area. (Nine separate interviews with groups of women revealed that women do not create WNCs.) Based on early qualitative findings, we designed and conducted a standardized survey with 317 household heads. We found that 46% of respondents have had WNCs. Furthermore, multivariate regression models show a significant association between WNCs and the controversial practice of leasing land in one district. Taken together, our findings show that WNCs can be seen as innovations in social networking that reduce path dependency, increase the range of potential outcomes, and hold important implications for rural livelihoods in East Africa.https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol26/iss2/art41/east africamaasaimobile phonespastoralismpath dependencysocial networkssocial ties |
| spellingShingle | Timothy D. Baird J. Terrence McCabe Emily Woodhouse Isaya Rumas Stephen Sankeni Gabriel Ole. Saitoti Mobile phones and wrong numbers: how Maasai agro-pastoralists form and use accidental social ties in East Africa Ecology and Society east africa maasai mobile phones pastoralism path dependency social networks social ties |
| title | Mobile phones and wrong numbers: how Maasai agro-pastoralists form and use accidental social ties in East Africa |
| title_full | Mobile phones and wrong numbers: how Maasai agro-pastoralists form and use accidental social ties in East Africa |
| title_fullStr | Mobile phones and wrong numbers: how Maasai agro-pastoralists form and use accidental social ties in East Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mobile phones and wrong numbers: how Maasai agro-pastoralists form and use accidental social ties in East Africa |
| title_short | Mobile phones and wrong numbers: how Maasai agro-pastoralists form and use accidental social ties in East Africa |
| title_sort | mobile phones and wrong numbers how maasai agro pastoralists form and use accidental social ties in east africa |
| topic | east africa maasai mobile phones pastoralism path dependency social networks social ties |
| url | https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol26/iss2/art41/ |
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