ICTs and transnational householding: The double burden of polymedia connectivity for international ‘study mothers’

• Main Authors: WANG, Yang, LIM, Sun Sun
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2021
• Subjects: information and communication technologies (ICTs); transnational communication; mediated communication; transnational householding; ethnography; Communication Technology and New Media
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cis_research/79; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/cis_research/article/1078/viewcontent/EdCh21WangLim_ICTsandTransnationalHouseholdingMMc.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

In contemporary society, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are widely cherished for helping transnational households preserve a coherent sense of familyhood despite geographical separation. By virtue of the constant connectivity bestowed by ICTs, international migrants and their left-behind family members can remain involved in the mundane experiences of each other’s everyday lives and perform familial responsibilities from afar on a daily basis. However, the same polymedia environment that serves as the ‘social glue of transnationalism’ can also bring about deficiencies and potential negative implications for family functioning and well-being of family members. Drawing on both literature review and empirical evidence, this chapter seeks to provide a comprehensive insight into the dual role of ICTs in shaping life experiences of transnational families. The empirical case study presented in the chapter is derived from a two-year ethnographic research on ICT domestication by a group of Chinese migrant mothers in Singapore.