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1. Introduction, ethnographic background and theoretical framework
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1 1 Sociality revisited? Liveness, and the use of the internet and mobile phones in urban Cameroon Introduction, ethnographic background and theoretical framework In this introduction chapter I will first relate to the relevance of research and give a short insight about my fieldwork. Then I will introduce the field site and look into the ethnographic background, and the history and situation of mobility and of New Media1 in Bamenda in order to give the reader an idea of the developments and recent transformations in this field. I will introduce the concept of “liveness”2 , which will serve as a guideline to examine sociality3 in relation to New Media use and mobility throughout this book. Furthermore, as theoretical background, I will revise the state of the art concepts of mobility, transnationalism, and media studies, and I will discuss basic ideas about sociality, communities, and social norms and roles - notions, which serve as an introduction to the guiding questions of this book. General introduction The setting of my research offers interesting reference points for the aforementioned fields – migration, New Media use, and transformations of sociality, providing a specific empirical example for these intersections in a particular locality. I suppose that the site of my research – the city of Bamenda in the North West Province of 1 I will use the notion of “New Media” interchangeably with the notion “ICT” (International Communication Technologies). New Media encompass electronic technologies, based on digitalization, and thus also include media such as DVD, MP3 or MP4, and others. For this book I will focus on the internet and mobile phones. 2 I will introduce the concept of „liveness” later in this chapter. 3 By the notion of sociality I understand a tendency and disposition of being sociable and relating to social others, and the situatedness of actors in multiple temporally evolving relational contexts (Emirbayer & Mische 1998, Mead 1932). 2 Cameroon – stands out and is particularly interesting in regard to New Media technologies and mobility4 . Migration and the use of New Media are very current topics, which impact on many fields of public discourse. Also New Media technologies continue to develop at a high pace, and migration movements are transforming in their characteristics and impacts. This research is thus a momentary inventory of the situation5 . However, since my research also addresses the historical set up of migration and mediated social interaction, the findings might provide a perspective from which to understand related transformations in this context, even though a complementing of the findings will become necessary in the near future. Relevance of the research I hope this book renders insights into how New Media technologies in today’s “globalized world” impact on mobility, communication and imagination, which often do not occur in ways they are commonly expected to do so. The so-called “digital divide”, and also a “mobility divide”, often do not function along the lines of simple presumptions of the impact New Media may or may not have. Here I suppose I can fill some gaps in empirical research with my study. Despite being favourable means of staying in contact over distance, New Media of communication also contribute to a negotiation of social ties, which can lead to tensions and frictions, on the basis of potentially being connected. Likewise, knowledge conveyed by New Media of information does not necessarily lead to a re-evaluation of opportunities, but often enhances the reproduction of strong societal imaginaries. The opportunities to stay in close contact with those abroad, as well as an apparent access to life opportunities through such connections, can also imply a strong feeling of immobility and disconnectedness. So far, what has been neglected in the discourses about liveness regarding practices of connecting, is the impact of the differentiating locations – and likewise social status - of the communication partners. These include imaginations and valuations, which are negotiated in mediated 4 In view of different modes of mobility, we could speak of mobility in plural form, of mobilities (Adey 2010:7-9,18). Close interconnections exist between physical, social and virtual mobility. See later in this chapter and chapter 2. 5 Although I might use an ethnographic present tense, the reader should bear in mind that I am describing the situation as it was between 2008 and 2011. [18.209.209.28] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 22:50 GMT) 3 communication and have an impact on the perceived qualities of mediated social relations. In this sense, practices of New Media users – in the framework of sociality and...