Publication Type

Book Chapter

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

1-2021

Abstract

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.

Keywords

information and communication technologies (ICTs), transnational communication, mediated communication, transnational householding, ethnography

Discipline

Communication Technology and New Media

Research Areas

Humanities

Publication

Research handbook on international migration and digital technology

Editor

Marie McAuliffe

First Page

207

Last Page

219

ISBN

9781839100604

Identifier

10.4337/9781839100611.00025

Publisher

Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839100611.00025

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