A preliminary study on the mobile phone use of migrant workers in Beijing

Abstract

The past decade has witnessed a rapid growth in the number of mobile phone users in China. Mobile phones in China have, during the past few years, become sufficiently affordable that the overwhelming majority of migrants surveyed use them. Taking examples from Beijing, this chapter discusses the implications of mobile phone use among migrant workers in China. Through their stories from daily life, this chapter attempts to explicate migrant workers' mobile phone usage against a background of their alienated situation in Beijing. The author explores the responses of the migrants toward their situation in relation to the social usage of mobile phone and specifically introduces and discusses four concepts for understanding patterns of migrant mobile phone use: feigned presence, concern in absence, jianghu relations, and romantic relations. This chapter ends with a conclusion that the patterns of mobile phone uses contribute to the change of migrant workers' way of life. Remaining problems and future research avenues implied in this study are also discussed.