| This dissertation studies the use of Internet and cellular phones in Niger and how these technologies are affecting culture, sociability and representations. I am analyzing related public discourse and ideas such as they are framed by Nigerian culture. I emphasize particularly the meanings and values associated with new information and communication technologies (ICTs). My research questions are the following: How are Nigerien users experiencing interactions with others through Internet? How do they relate to computers, computer use and computer ownership? What are the new forms of sociality and interactions made possible by the use of cell phones? What is the impact of these technologies on everyday management of space and time? What is gender dimension in the use of these technologies? What are the old or traditional forms of domination (between men and women) which are being reproduced or emerging from the use of these technologies? Are these technologies reinforcing or weakening these forms of domination?; To respond to these questions, I argue that the advent of ICTs has generated a myth of "global integration" (Castells, 1996; Forte, 1998) among Nigerien users. Global integration is defined as the integration into a perceived "modern world" via the transnational and transcultural interactions taking place in the cyberspace, a space into which people of all backgrounds and cultures exchange, create ties and maintain durable relations of all sorts: affective, educational, knowledge-related or business-related, etc. In this digital utopia nourished by the discourse of development and modernity, ICTs are conceived as the primary means by which Africans can integrate today's advanced technological world. Very specific symbolic associations and social expectations are attached to ICTS. They all have to do with the fear of "lagging behind" (Lally, 2001) and the hope of blending into a global world of economic and social opportunities. Using semi-structured interviews to conduct this study, I show that the discourse related to ICTs reveals a prevalence of technocentrist ideas which prolong theoretical constructions favoring third world countries participation into so-called knowledge societies. Although ICTs penetration in Niger is very low, they have provoked an increased interest manifested in policy formulation, the existence of a growing group of national Internet promoters as well as NGOs, international development organizations, etc. These, in turn, gave rise to a modernist discourse centered on the use of ICTs and a change in social and technological practices. |
