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Left-Behind Children and Mobile: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Left-Behind Children and Mobile: A Critical Discourse Analysis
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Author(s): Janice Hua Xu (Holy Family University, USA)
Copyright: 2016
Pages: 20
Source title: Handbook of Research on Human Social Interaction in the Age of Mobile Devices
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Xiaoge Xu (Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Botswana)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0469-6.ch019

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Abstract

Through critical analysis of selected news stories from sina.com from 2010 to 2015 about “left-behind children” in China, the chapter examines media discourse on relationships between migrant families and communication technology. The author finds that the role of cell phones in their lives are portrayed in the following narratives: 1) Cell phones are highly valuable for connecting family members living apart; 2) Cell phones are used as a problem-solver in charity giving and rural development projects; 3) Cell phones can bring unexpected risks; 4) Cell phones could harbor or unleash evil—associated with increasing cases of crimes victimizing left-behind children and juvenile delinquency. The author discusses how institutional goals of social agencies, corporations, educators and law enforcement contribute to the polarity of cell-phone-related discourses, which reflect the societal anxieties over unsupervised access to technology by adolescents, as well as the cultural and political implications of empowering the “have-nots” of digital divide.

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