Publikasjon

Bridging the Digital Divide

Forfattere: Doré, Alexander Russell

Publisert: 2025

Sammendrag: This thesis examines the long-term impacts of mobile phone distribution on device access and sexual behaviour among Malawian youth. Through a randomized controlled trial, 164 Form 4 students (the final year of secondary school) from four government boarding schools were randomly assigned to receive either smartphones, basic phones, or were placed in a control group that did not receive a phone through the study. Five years later, follow-up surveys assessed the intervention’s effects on technology usage and sexual risk outcomes. The findings reveal that the intervention significantly increased device ownership and internet usage, with particularly pronounced effects among female participants. Females in the treatment group were 13.6 percentage points more likely to have smartphone access and 22.4 percentage points more likely to have laptop access than females in the control group. Notably, females who received phones eventually achieved higher smartphone ownership rates than untreated males – providing evidence that targeted technology interventions can help reverse existing gender disparities in technology access. Contrary to common concerns that often restrict girls’ access to mobile technology, the study found no evidence that increased device ownership led to greater sexual activity or risk-taking behaviour. In fact, the intervention was associated with marginal reductions in sexual risk indicators, including a later age of sexual debut (+0.686 years) and fewer lifetime sexual partners (-0.632), with these effects primarily driven by male participants. This research challenges prevailing assumptions about technology access and sexual risk among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. It provides evidence-based support for policies promoting equitable technology distribution as a means of fostering digital inclusion and addressing gender disparities, without increasing sexual risk behaviours.

Referanse: Doré, Alexander Russell, 2025, «Bridging the Digital Divide», Andre skrifter, Master\\\\\\\'s in Economics, University of Oslo

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