Exploring how mobile phones mediate bonding, bridging and linking social capital in a South African rural area

Abstract

Many contemporary ICT for development (ICT4D) studies focus on the benefits of mobile phones on the socio-economic development of marginalised communities. For many people in poorly resourced rural areas, one of the significant benefits of mobile phone usage is the expansion of social networks for resources or support. Social capital is one of the concepts that have been found to directly or indirectly influence many aspects of social life, communities and development. In the present study, I explore how mobile phones mediate bonding, bridging and linking social capital in a rural area on the Wild Coast of South Africa, Dwesa. I use individual semi-structured interviews with purposefully selected participants who are mobile phone owners in the area. I employ a thematic analysis to analyse their responses in relation to three dimensions of social capital, i.e. 1) trust and solidarity, 2) social cohesion and inclusion and 3) collective action and empowerment. Like in many South African rural areas, in Dwesa there is endemic poverty, inadequate services and infrastructure and high unemployment. The study found that by increased communication, mobile phones mostly strengthen bonding social capital between close ties who rely on each other for various forms of support. Mobile phones also facilitate the building of bridging social capital among members of various community groups by using WhatsApp group chats and Facebook. The little evidence on the relationship between mobile phone use and linking social capital in the area relates to group networks providing opportunities for interaction between community members and individuals in tertiary institutions and local government positions.