Browsers and phone girls: The intricate socialities of friendship, trust and cyberlove in Nima (Accra)

Abstract

The young men of Nima, a popular neighbourhood in Accra, organize themselves in small age groups that meet almost daily in a specific spot, to chat, play and 'wait', while dreaming together of a better future in a distant elsewhere. The friendships that find root in these so-called bases, which often have names such as 'Chicago' or 'Brooklyn', lead to hope and specific modes of action through which these young people engage with the city, the wider world and their own aspirations. Taking these bases as an ethnographic vantage point, this article looks into relations of proximity, friendship and trust and the agency of the young men. The article's focus then turns to the virtual world of the same young men - and their girlfriends - in order to analyse the new modes of friendship that are shaped by their internet browsing. It shows how the modalities and intricacies of online, often deceitful, friendship and love rely on vital localized friendship bonds, defined by trust, of browsers in the zongo. Browsing opens up new possibilities but also challenges, and erodes existing moral socialities between friends.