Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Contributions of WhatsApp to Social Inclusion: A Case of Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Book cover Information and Communication Technologies for Development. Strengthening Southern-Driven Cooperation as a Catalyst for ICT4D (ICT4D 2019)

Part of the book series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology ((IFIPAICT,volume 551))

  • 2208 Accesses

Abstract

This paper addresses the topic on how WhatsApp can improve the lives of internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by conflict. To theorize the complex relationship between mobile technologies and social inclusion, Sen’s five distinct instrumental freedoms was drawn upon to understand the use of WhatsApp by IDPs affected by Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and its impact on their social inclusion. Based on a one-week fieldwork of an ongoing research, the case narrative presented both the freedom outcomes afforded the IDPs by the use of WhatsApp and also the impediments that hinder the developmental impact. Finally, we conclude by providing some implications for research and practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • AbuJarour, S., Krasnova, H.: E-learning as a means of social inclusion: the case of Syrian refugees in Germany. In: Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 2018), New Orleans, LA, 16–18 August 2018 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  • AbuJarour, S., Krasnova, H.: Understanding the role of ICTs in promoting social inclusion: the case of Syrian refugees in Germany. In: European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2017), Guimarães, Portugal (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  • AbuJarour, S.A., Krasnova, H., Hoffmeier, F.: ICT as an enabler: understanding the role of online communication in the social inclusion of Syrian refugees in Germany. In: Proceedings of the 26th European Conference on Information Systems, Portsmouth, pp. 1–17 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrade, A., Urquhart, C.: Unveiling the modernity bias: a critical examination of the politics of ICT4D. Inf. Technol. Dev. 18(4), 281–292 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrade, A.D., Doolin, B.: Information and communication technology and the social inclusion of refugees. MIS Q. 40(2), 405–416 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alkire, S.: Why the capability approach? J. Hum. Dev. 6(1), 115–135 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bacishoga, K.B., Hooper, V.A., Johnston, K.A.: The role of mobile phones in the development of social capital among refugees in South Africa. Electron. J. Inf. Syst. Dev. Ctries. 72(1), 1–21 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caidi, N., Allard, D., Quirke, L.: Information practices of immigrants. Annu. Rev. Inf. Sci. Technol. 44(1), 491–531 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cetinkaya, L.: The impact of Whatsapp use on success in education process. Int. Rev. Res. Open Distrib. Learn. 18(7) (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiumbu, S.: Exploring mobile phone practices in social movements in South Africa–the Western Cape anti-eviction campaign. Afr. Identities 10(2), 193–206 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, V., Braun, V.: Thematic analysis. In: Michalos, A.C. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, pp. 6626–6628. Springer, Dordrecht (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Diminescu, D., Renault, M.: TIC et parrainage dans les mouvements militants de défense des sans-papiers en France. tic&société 3(1–2) (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyde-Clarke, N.: The impact of mobile technology on economic growth amongst’survivalists’ in the informal sector in the Johannesburg CBD, South Africa. Int. J. Bus. Soc. Sci. 4(16) (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gifford, S.M., Wilding, R.: Digital escapes? ICTs, settlement and belonging among Karen youth in Melbourne. Australia. J. Refug. Stud. 26(4), 558–575 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IOM 2017. IOM Framework for Addressing Internal Displacement (2017). https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/press_release/file/170829_IDP_Framework_LowRes.pdf. Accessed 11 Jan 2019

  • Kutscher, N., Kreß, L.: Internet is the same like food – an empirical study on the use of digital media by unaccompanied minor refugees in Germany. Transnatl. Soc. Rev. 6(1–2), 200–203 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Navarrete, C., Huerta, E.: Building virtual bridges to home: the use of the Internet by transnational communities of immigrants. Int. J. Commun. Law Policy, 1–20 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  • NBS 2017: Telecommunication Sector Data (2017). https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/download/729. Accessed 08 Nov 2019

  • Nyemba-Mudenda, M., Chigona, W.: mHealth outcomes for pregnant mothers in Malawi: a capability perspective. Inf. Technol. Dev. 24(2), 245–278 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M.: Women’s capabilities and social justice. J. Hum. Dev. 1(2), 219–247 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • PremiumTimes: Four UN aid workers killed, one abducted in Rann Attack (2018). https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/260374-four-un-aid-workers-killed-one-abducted-rann-attack.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2018

  • Pridmore, J., Mols, A., Wang, Y., Holleman, F.: Keeping an eye on the neighbours: Police, citizens, and communication within mobile neighbourhood crime prevention groups. Police J., 1–24 (2018). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0032258X18768397

  • Robeyns, I.: The capability approach: a theoretical survey. J. Hum. Dev. 6(1), 93–117 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sahay, S., Walsham, G.: Information technology, innovation and human development: hospital information systems in an Indian state. J. Hum. Dev. Capab. 18(2), 275–292 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A.: Freedom as development (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • UNHCR: Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2017 (2017). https://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends2017/. Accessed 18 Jan 2018

  • Van Steden, R., Van Caem-Posch, B., Boutellier, J.C.J.: The ‘hidden strength’ of active citizenship: the involvement of local residents in public safety projects. Criminol. Crim. Justice 11(5), 433–450 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsham, G.: Doing interpretive research. Eur. J. Inf. Syst. 15(3), 320–330 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warschauer, M.: Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide. MIT Press, Cambridge (2004)

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    Salihu Ibrahim Dasuki

  2. American University of Nigeria, Yola, Nigeria

    Naima Hafiz Abubakar

Authors
  1. Salihu Ibrahim Dasuki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Naima Hafiz Abubakar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Salihu Ibrahim Dasuki .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Petter Nielsen

  2. University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Honest Christopher Kimaro

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Dasuki, S.I., Abubakar, N.H. (2019). The Contributions of WhatsApp to Social Inclusion: A Case of Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria. In: Nielsen, P., Kimaro, H.C. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies for Development. Strengthening Southern-Driven Cooperation as a Catalyst for ICT4D. ICT4D 2019. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 551. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18400-1_34

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18400-1_34

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18399-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18400-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Societies and partnerships

Search

Navigation