Mobile mutuality of being: WhatsApp and kinship at the top of the world

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Mobile mutuality of being: WhatsApp and kinship at the top of the world
Authors: Martina Di Tullio, Edgar Gómez-Cruz
Source: Mobile Media & Communication. 13:444-461
Publisher Information: SAGE Publications, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Subject Terms: Kinship, WhatsApp, Jujuy Puna, Mobile technologies, Andean community
Description: Digital technologies have become ubiquitous infrastructures worldwide, with WhatsApp emerging as one of the most widely used apps, particularly in the Global South. However, its integration into rural and Indigenous contexts in Latin America remains relatively unexplored. The Jujuy Puna, situated in Northwest Argentina and home to Quechua communities, recently gained internet connectivity through state initiatives. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in two villages, Cusi Cusi and Lagunillas del Farallón, this paper examines the use of WhatsApp in these communities. Furthermore, it investigates the intricate dynamics of WhatsApp usage within the realms of kinship and caregiving. To comprehend this phenomenon, we mobilize the concept of kinship to encompass and explain the myriad practices through which individuals in these villages establish connections and preserve a sense of collectivity using digital technologies like WhatsApp.
Document Type: Article
File Description: application/pdf
Language: English
ISSN: 2050-1587
2050-1579
DOI: 10.1177/20501579251347487
Access URL: http://hdl.handle.net/11336/264303
Rights: CC BY NC SA
URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....5f8f53fcf6bd8ba43e2eb071007e44b0
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
Abstract:Digital technologies have become ubiquitous infrastructures worldwide, with WhatsApp emerging as one of the most widely used apps, particularly in the Global South. However, its integration into rural and Indigenous contexts in Latin America remains relatively unexplored. The Jujuy Puna, situated in Northwest Argentina and home to Quechua communities, recently gained internet connectivity through state initiatives. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in two villages, Cusi Cusi and Lagunillas del Farallón, this paper examines the use of WhatsApp in these communities. Furthermore, it investigates the intricate dynamics of WhatsApp usage within the realms of kinship and caregiving. To comprehend this phenomenon, we mobilize the concept of kinship to encompass and explain the myriad practices through which individuals in these villages establish connections and preserve a sense of collectivity using digital technologies like WhatsApp.
ISSN:20501587
20501579
DOI:10.1177/20501579251347487