Sociality Revisited? The Use of the Internet and Mobile Phones in Urban Cameroon

Contents

iii Table of Contents Acknowledgement……………………………………………… vii Abstract………………………………………………………… ix List of acronyms………………………………………………... xi List of figures……………………………………………………xiii 1. Introduction, ethnographic background and theoretical framework……………………………………………………... 1 General introduction…………………………………………...1 The setting – The site of fieldwork, and youth as a social category ……………………………………………………………… 6 A local history of migration…………………………………… 10 The situation of New Media Technology in Bamenda – history and background…………………………………………………….18 Framing the research topic: liveness as a lens…………………. 35 Theoretical framework – mobility, transnationalism, New Media, and social transformation………………………………………….. 44 Outlook……………………………………………………….. 62 2. Anxiety of mobility, New Media use, and imaginations of a “good life”……………………………………………………... 65 New Media use and mobility – intentional practices and motivations for migration…………………………………………………...67 The (re-)production of imaginaries and narratives in the local setting ……………………………………………………………. 81 Imagination of spaces and places……………………………… 91 Imagination as social practice – imageries and narratives of migration and “white man’s kontri”………………………………………98 Conclusion – Transnational mobility, liveness as a potential, and the power of imagination………………………………………….. 114 iv 3. New Media, their materiality, and their contribution to social spaces: between potentials and local conditions…………… 117 The materialization of cyber cafés and computer technology in the setting………………………………………………………….118 New Media’s influences in the public sphere - materiality, discourses and critique…………………………………………………….142 Different loci of sociality – from face-to-face to mediated social interaction ………………………………………………………. 152 Youth and embodied imaginaries –performances and feelings of being (dis)-connected……………………………………………..160 Conclusion – New Media and social spaces: liveness and a “sense of place”…………………………………………………………. 171 4. Practices of social networking – face-to-face and mediated social ties and support……………………………………….. 175 Social units and networks based on co-presence – families, friends, and lovers……………………………………………………... 176 Social networks and practices of networking through New Media of communication……………………………………………….. 187 Local and translocal social networking and accessing social capital ……………………………………………………………... 204 Being part of social networks of support……………………….215 Conclusion - Creating liveness by adding face-to-face and mediated social networks and opportunities for support…………………227 5. Physically distant but emotionally close – transforming qualities of social ties………………………………………………. 231 Reflections on “closeness”, “trust”, and “intimacy” as qualities in social interaction………………………………………………… 232 New Media and mediated communication……………………. 239 Negotiating a sense of closeness: observing conduct in mediated social interaction………………………………………………… 264 Mediated closeness: “good communication” and communication contents………………………………………………………. 277 Conclusion: Negotiating, creating or avoiding liveness in mediated social interaction……………………………………………….286 v 6. Practices of connecting and disconnecting – negotiations of social relations between migrants and non-migrants……… 289 Migrants, non-migrants, and generations – conflicting views and colliding interests………………………………………………….290 The migrants – between the country of residence and dreams of return …………………………………………………………….295 Imagination and solidarity - migrants between pressure and demonstrating success………………………………………………... 305 Negotiating expectations – through “managing” communication Media…………………………………………………………. 312 Keeping a foothold in one’s place of origin – negotiating “virtual presence” at home…………………………………………….. 325 Negotiating social and moral positions and status among migrants and non migrants………………………………………………336 Conclusion: Between accord and disappointment – liveness through New Media as a means to effect claims and rights in social relations between migrants and non-migrants…………………………... 344 7. Self-reflection and fieldwork methods……………………. 347 Using New Media in my research – as a working tool and research topic…………………………………………………………... 347 Having multiple identities in the setting………………………. 351 Transnational research collaboration………………………….. 363 Different perspectives – different findings……………………. 369 Fieldwork methods……………………………………………. 375 Opportunities and challenges in fieldwork……………………. 390 Conclusion: Interconnections of my personal experience with the research topic…………………………………………………….393 vi 8. Liveness, mobility, and New Media use – between dislocation and feelings of closeness………………………………………395 Mobilities and the dimensions of agency……………………… 396 Liveness, transforming sociality, and the dimensions of agency ………………………………………………………………417 Dealing with space and time, distance and closeness - reflections on “globalization processes” and interrelations of agency and structure ……………………………………………………………. 438 How can this research and thesis contribute to a better understanding of the field?............................................................................................ 450 Concluding résumé……………………………………………. 454 References ………………………………………………………457 Internet sources………………………………………………… 499 Appendix………………………………………………………...503 ...