Cell Phones and the Social Lives of Migrant Workers in Southern China

The aim of this paper is to present the relationships between cellphones and the social lives of migrant workers. The data is based mainly on an exploratory study undertaken in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, in July 2003, on the social consequences of the take-up of cellphones among migrant workers. The paper first examines how socio-cultural factors such as face and gender affect the penetration rate and the ways of using the cellphone among the migrant workers. Through the study of consumption patterns and uses, this paper also presents the fact that take-up is conducive to changes in the social behaviours of the migrant workers. This suggests that the use of cellphones strengthens traditional kinship ties and consequently leads to the reproduction or maintenance of traditional cultural norms.