Why do Rural Migrant Mothers in Urban China Digitally Monitor Their Children?

We examine how and why some rural intra-provincial working migrant women in cities in central China used digital monitoring technologies in their mothering. The discussion draws on our 22 face-to-face interviews with the rural migrant mothers of at least one child ages 7–14 years. Our analysis highlights the intersectionally constituted time pressures arising from these women’s need to balance their responsibilities in paid work and childcare. We focus on how some of the mothers used smartwatches and home security cameras to pursue three core aspects of intensive mothering: being continually accessible to their children, supervising their children’s safety and well-being, and encouraging their children to study. We especially explore how these mothers used digital monitoring in navigating the time and space constraints to providing maternal care, practices that we call “time stretching.” The conclusion reflects on the implications of these women’s digital time-stretching efforts for feminist theories of mothering and care.