New media use among young Batswana – on concerns, consequences and the educational factor

Based on a multi-methodological fieldwork, conducted in Gaborone and a village in Botswana in 2015/16, this article discusses how new media is used as part of young people’s everyday practices and with what consequences. The findings show that Batswana attach high significance to personal media but use it more for social than direct income-generating activities, with little effect on their core life concerns. People’s uses of personal media have, however, significantly changed the practical processes around how concerns can be handled, and on their socio-economic consequences. The dynamics by which personal media uses indirectly generate new outcomes are discussed using four cases that exemplify variations within the most ardent new media user group in Botswana, the young adults in the capital. The analysis highlights how mobility, social capital and – not least – education are important and interlinked factors in the social mechanisms that produce different outcomes of media use.