MobileActive.org

New media platforms are changing how people communicate with each  other around the world. However, there is great variation in both the kind of 

communication platforms people make use of as well as in how they access these  platforms. Computer ownership and internet access are still the prerogative of  the wealthy few in wide swathes of the African continent. All the same, mobile internet access is on the rise and if current growth rates continue, African mobile phone penetration will reach 100 per cent by 2014. Mobile phone penetration rates, in particular, have resulted in a plethora of ideas for new media platforms aimed at bridging the information divide between the well-connected and the disconnected. Topic areas range from agriculture and conservation to health and human rights. In addition to mobile phone-based platforms, there is also a number of promising internet-based ones.

Rural Africa is in need of qualified teachers in mathematics and science for primary and secondary school. Classrooms in rural Africa are often benches under a tree. The teachers themselves often have limited education in mathematics and science. As cellular telephony services pushes deeper into rural Africa, the question we asked was whether various wireless access methods could be used to assist children and teenagers with their mathematics and science education.

One of the leaders in low cost GPRS communication over cell phones is a South African based company, MXit Lifestyle, boasting over 7 million users using their mobile instant messaging chat client, MXit. According to MXit's demographics, 45% of their users are children and teenagers between the ages of 12 and 18.

Dr Math is a project which Meraka Institute initiated in January, 2007. Dr Math linked up children and teenagers using MXit on their cell phones to university students (using internet based workstations) in Pretoria who acted as tutors. The tutors would help with mathematics and, depending on the individual tutors, chemistry and physics homework problems. Currently, over 3000 children and teenagers are using this service in Southern Africa.

This paper reports on a pilot study investigating the perceptions and use of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) amongst the youth in South Africa. MIMs are enjoying a high adoption rate amongst the youth in South Africa and MXit is by far the most popular MIM. However, the media, parents and educators are overly concerned with the use of the system. The accusations against MXit have included the allegations that it is time-wasting for the youth, it is a hunting ground for paedophiles, and it leads to anti-social behaviours. It is interesting, however, that despite the negative perceptions of the system, the youth are still using it, and presumably with their parents’ blessings.

Data for the study was gathered through in-depth interviews with randomly selected youth who use MXit, as well as with parents of children who use the system. The study has found that the youth use the system mainly for social networking and that, to most users, the system is more than just a communication tool - it is also part of their lives. The study has also unearthed the perceptions of the users towards fellow users and towards non-users. In addition, it has been noted that both the users and parents of users are employing self-justification strategies to deal with the cognitive dissonance arising from the negative discourse on MXit and their continued use or support of the system.

The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of how the youth use new media. The findings could be useful for those who may want to use new media for educating the youth and for marketing purposes.

The paper suggests that research on the role of mobile telephony for socioeconomic development (M4D) draws on two frames. One frame stresses the relative freedom of telephone users to do whatever they choose. The other stresses how technologies and technology-led interventions are embedded in recursive, context specific relationships with user communities. Together these frames support M4D’s “dual heritage”. After detailing current M4D archetypes representing each heritage, the paper introduces a conceptual and practical synthesis, that is, large-scale platforms for distributed, semi-constrained interaction.

This paper considers two examples of such platforms—MXit, South Africa’s mobile social networking service and M-PESA, Kenya’s mobile money transfer system—including both anticipated and unanticipated consequences of operating “at scale” and beyond the confines of a controlled M4D intervention. Finally, this paper introduces implications of the dual heritage and of the rise of hybrid platforms for research and practice.

Research has shown that traditional Internet has not been successful in alleviating social exclusion in developing country. Since a significant number of the population in developing countries use mobile phones, others have suggested that mobile internet may be the solution to the problem. However, to date there has not been empirical studies in developing countries to explore that possibility. This study aims therefore to explore whether the mobile Internet may be a viable option for addressing social exclusion in a developing country context. Data for the study was gathered using semi-structured interviews with socially excluded individuals and the data was analysed using thematic analysis. The findings of the study show that usage of mobile internet amongst the socially excluded is low mainly because internet-capable cell phones are still beyond the reach of the socially excluded and because of limited awareness of what mobile internet is and what it can achieve. The study also shows that while mobile internet has significant impact in addressing exclusion from social participation, its impact on economic as well political dimensions of exclusions is still limited.

In a world where school books, pencils and paper have to compete with cell phones, IPODs, and MP3 players for pupils' attention, Dr Math entices pupils to practice basic mathematics skills by providing games and competitions using Mxit over cell phones. Dr Math is a Mxit contact which pupils can add which gives pupils the opportunity to compete with other pupils in basic arithmetic skills such as addition and multiplication and more advanced mathematics skills such as factoring a polynomial and finding the prime factors of a number. In addition, interactive fiction games are available with mathematical twists in a plot that require some basic arithmetic skills to solve the puzzle. And, all of this is done over Mxit – South Africa's leading instant messaging provider – on cell phones.

This paper reports on a pilot study investigating the perceptions and use of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) amongst the youth in South Africa. MIMs are enjoying a high adoption rate amongst the youth in South Africa and MXit is by far the most popular MIM. However, the media, parents and educators are overly concerned with the use of the system. The accusations against MXit have included the allegations that it is time-wasting for the youth, it is a hunting ground for paedophiles, and it leads to anti-social behaviours.

It is interesting, however, that despite the negative perceptions of the system, the youth are still using it, and presumably with their parents’ blessings. Data for the study was gathered through in-depth interviews with randomly selected youth who use MXit, as well as with parents of children who use the system.

The study has found that the youth use the system mainly for social networking and that, to most users, the system is more than just a communication tool - it is also part of their lives. The study has also unearthed the perceptions of the users towards fellow users and towards non-users. In addition, it has been noted that both the users and parents of users are employing self-justification strategies to deal with the cognitive dissonance arising from the negative discourse on MXit and their continued use or support of the system. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of how the youth use new media. The findings could be useful for those who may want to use new media for educating the youth and for marketing purposes

Mobile instant messaging has the potential of providing youth not only with a social space where they can interact and bond but also with a learning environment. MXit is the most popular mobile instant messaging application in South Africa. Due to its nascency, little academic research has been done on the application.

The application has drawn considerable local media interest; however, most of the media coverage has been negative. Media discourse of the application is of academic interest, since media discourse is one of the many ways through which reality is constructed. This means there is a relationship between media discourse and public opinion. Distortions in the media may misinform and engender impaired decision making amongst policymakers as well as members of the public. Discourse analysis can reveal distortions in media communication and counter misinformation.

Using critical discourse analysis, we have analysed the media discourse on MXit by employing the Habermasian concept of the ideal speech situatio and its validity claims as a conceptual tool. The analysis shows that (i) the media discourse  is fraught with distortions; (ii) the media have mainly used the voice of adults to legitimise the discourse and marginalise the voices of the youth.

An increase in gang and drug activity in South Africa has been causing tension within communities and has a negative effect on society. Treatment and counselling facilities are finding it difficult to cope with the influx of substance abuse cases. Traditional face-to-face counselling and telephone help-lines have come under pressure with this increased demand. This presented an opportunity to use mobile and web technologies to provide advice and support to people impacted by substance abuse problems.

This study indicates how a substance abuse counselling service called Drug Advice Support (DAS) uses technologies such as Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) and social networks to benefit and empower these communities in tension (CiT). The service makes it easy for persons with a mobile device with internet connectivity to access the service.

This paper takes an evolutionary journey through the design and development of the DAS system. It studies how the system evolved as an environment in which DAS was operating and co-developed with citizens in the Athlone Living Lab (ALL). The DAS system started with one advisor advising a few people, to multiple advisors advising as much as 471 conversations during a two hour period. It also shows how the implementation of such a system could be used to aid communities facing other social issues in South Africa and other parts of the world.

Background: There is a recognised problem with drug taking in South Africa. In socially deprived areas immediate help for drug users and their families is a problem. As part of their work in a community in tension, Impact Direct Ministries (IDM) and Reconstructed Living Lab (RLabs) in Cape Town provide a drug advisory service using mobile phone technology that can support multiple conversations. It is staffed by trained volunteers and is available to drug users and their families.

Methods: This article investigates historical counselling help for drug users. It explains the importance of family involvement in the life-changing process of a drug user and the importance of co-operative counselling. The Drug Advice Support (DAS) service provided by IDM and RLabs is introduced as a case study to explore how mobile phone technology can support the co-operative counselling model in a Living Lab context.

Results: The advantages of the DAS technology and what it offers to community-based organisations are discussed. Data on relatives of drug users using the system are included.

Conclusion: The use of mobile phone technology has advantages for community-based organisations acting as a first point of contact to drug users and their families. Minimal cost to the person in crisis and the organisation serves as an example. The co-operative counselling model it employs is also of benefit. As the community experiencing tension due to the problem of drug abuse becomes aware of this service, help and support for family members will increase in time.