An exploration on long-distance communications between left-behind children and their parents in China

In China, hundreds of millions of migrant workers have moved to cities or coastal regions for more or better-paid jobs and have left their children behind at their rural homes. Separated by thousands of kilometers, these "left-behind" children and their migrant parents use mobile phones as their primary - and often only - method of maintaining family connections. To better understand the use of technology in this long-distance communication, we conducted a multi-phased study using interviews and surveys in three different Chinese rural areas. In this paper, we report our findings on how these children communicate with their migrant parents and what information they exchange. We also discuss design implications derived from these findings that may improve communication between left-behind children and their parents.

[1]  J. Taylor,et al.  The new economics of labour migration and the role of remittances in the migration process. , 1999, International migration.

[2]  N. Schwarz.  Self-reports: How the questions shape the answers. , 1999 .

[3]  Jason Pribilsky.  Nervios and `Modern Childhood' , 2001 .

[4]  J. Katz,et al.  Perpetual Contact , 2002 .

[5]  Eija-Liisa Kasesniemi,et al.  Mobile culture of children and teenagers in Finland , 2002 .

[6]  P. Levitt,et al.  Conceptualizing Simultaneity: A Transnational Social Field Perspective on Society 1 , 2004 .

[7]  D. McKenzie.  Beyond Remittances : The Effects of Migration on Mexican Households , 2005 .

[8]  R. Parreñas.  Long distance intimacy: class, gender and intergenerational relations between mothers and children in Filipino transnational families , 2005 .

[9]  J. Bryant.  Children of International Migrants in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines: A review of evidence and policies , 2005 .

[10]  Rich Ling,et al.  Control, Emancipation, and Status: The Mobile Telephone in the Teen's Parental and Peer Group Control Relationships , 2006, Computers, Phones, and the Internet.

[11]  Dean Yang.  International Migration, Remittances and Household Investment: Evidence from Philippine Migrants Exchange Rate Shocks , 2006 .

[12]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  Computers, Phones, and the Internet - Domesticating Information Technology , 2006, Computers, Phones, and the Internet.

[13]  Mikael B. Skov,et al.  Mediated intimacy in families: understanding the relation between children and parents , 2006, IDC '06.

[14]  Frank Vetere,et al.  Virtual box: supporting mediated family intimacy through virtual and physical play , 2007, OZCHI '07.

[15]  Mikael B. Skov,et al.  eKISS: sharing experiences in families through a picture blog , 2007, BCS HCI.

[16]  Rosalía Cortés.  CHILDREN AND WOMEN LEFT BEHIND IN LABOR SENDING COUNTRIES: AN APPRAISAL OF SOCIAL RISKS , 2007 .

[17]  Lisa Paulina Modlitba.  Globetoddler : enhancing the experience of remote interaction for preschool children and their traveling parents , 2008 .

[18]  Gregory D. Abowd,et al.  Developing a media space for remote synchronous parent-child interaction , 2009, IDC.

[19]  John Zimmerman,et al.  Designing for dynamic family structures: divorced families and interactive systems , 2010, Conference on Designing Interactive Systems.

[20]  Sean Follmer,et al.  Family story play: reading with young children (and elmo) over a distance , 2010, CHI.

[21]  Abigail Sellen,et al.  Designing a technological playground: a field study of the emergence of play in household messaging , 2010, CHI.

[22]  Hiroshi Ishii,et al.  Video play: playful interactions in video conferencing for long-distance families with young children , 2010, IDC.

[23]  Morgan G. Ames,et al.  Making love in the network closet: the benefits and work of family videochat , 2010, CSCW '10.

[24]  Shaowen Bardzell,et al.  Technology-mediated parent-child intimacy: designing for ecuadorian families separated by migration , 2011, CHI EA '11.

[25]  Steve Harrison,et al.  Family portals: connecting families through a multifamily media space , 2011, CHI.

[26]  Rafael Ballagas,et al.  Pokaboo: a networked toy for distance communication and play , 2011, IDC.

[27]  Gregory D. Abowd,et al.  Mediated parent-child contact in work-separated families , 2011, CHI.