Terry McCabe's Maasai Research Featured in The Conversation
Research into how Maasai in Tanzania use their phones shows how dialing errors can also breed friendships and business opportunities. Professor J. Terrence McCabe and colleagues share on The Conversation.
Sometimes wrong numbers work. On the East African savanna, Maasai herders can form important new social connections when they misdial their mobile phones, our new study of these communities found. Maasai have traditionally lived in relatively independent, homogeneous groups, but these misdials introduce them to strangers near and far. And some even become friends or business partners.Ìý
OurÌýresearchÌýintoÌýhow Maasai in Tanzania use their phones shows us howÌýtechnology, error and opennessÌýcan bring diverse people together.
Maasai social life centers on family connections. However, groups organized by age and clan are also longstanding and critically important. In a challenging savanna landscape, these intersecting social networks provide a strong web of friendships and business partnerships alike. And now, with mobile phones, communication across these networks is much easier.
Earlier studies showed that MaasaiÌýuse phones widelyÌýto communicate withÌýpeople they already know. It’s much less common for them to use phones to communicate with strangers. Generally, people meet face-to-face andÌýstay in touch using phones.
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