E-migrant Women in Catalonia: Mobile Phone Use and Maintenance of Family Relationships
Abstract
The rapid dissemination of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in contemporary societies has given rise to a new technological, geographical, and social (TGS) space that defines the e-migrant. This analytical perspective allows us to address the relationship between mobile phone use and the maintenance of family relationships from a distance. In this article, we focus on the transnational communication practices of three distinct groups of migrant women in Catalonia: Ecuadorian, Moroccan, and Romanian. The results show that the three groups of women tend to use mobile phone mainly for (transnational) family communications. Mobile phone use allows migrant women to move into a new TGS space where family relationships are significantly redefined in technological and geographical terms, but far less in social terms. Their self or socially perceived traditional family roles perpetuate, but in a different way, as distance transforms familial patterns of interaction
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Having large and diverse social networks (i.e., transnational ties as well as local social ties) are associated with an overall positive sense of wellbeing.
“However, studies have also found that transnational connections can be a source of stress, and having large and diverse social networks (i.e., transnational ties as well as local social ties) are associated with an overall positive sense of wellbeing (56, 57).”
From Social Isolation, Loneliness and Health: A Descriptive Study of the Experiences of Migrant Mothers With Young Children (0–5 Years Old) at La Maison Bleue (2022) · cites this paper as [57]
Studies have found that transnational connections can be a source of stress.
“However, studies have also found that transnational connections can be a source of stress, and having large and diverse social networks (i.e., transnational ties as well as local social ties) are associated with an overall positive sense of wellbeing (56, 57).”
From Social Isolation, Loneliness and Health: A Descriptive Study of the Experiences of Migrant Mothers With Young Children (0–5 Years Old) at La Maison Bleue (2022) · cites this paper as [57]
Not all migrant families may have access to internet and communication devices or are eligible for support programs that help gain access to these.
“Not all migrant families may have access to internet and communication devices or are eligible for support programs that help gain access to these (57, 70–73).”
From Social Isolation, Loneliness and Health: A Descriptive Study of the Experiences of Migrant Mothers With Young Children (0–5 Years Old) at La Maison Bleue (2022) · cites this paper as [57]
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- Authors
- Vancea, M., & Olivera, N.
- Affiliations
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ES)
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
- Corresponding author
- Vancea, Mihaela
- Olivera, Nihil
- ORCID
- Vancea, Mihaela
- Venue
- Gender, Technology and Development
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2013-01
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 179-203
- ISSN
- 0971-8524 (ISSN-L)
- 0973-0656
- OpenAlex
- W2162582171
- Cited by
- 29
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 5.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Gender Technology and Development (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Diaspora, migration, transnational identity
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration and Labor Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving
- Keywords
- mobile phone use, transnational communication, family relationships, migrant women, Ecuadorian migrants, Moroccan immigrants, Romanian migrants, family roles, distance, Catalonia
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