Mobile phones, mothers, and patriarchy: Understanding digital interactions of adolescent Indian rural girls under watchful eyes

As mobile media is expanding its roots in rural spheres of the Global South, and that too among girls and women, concerns related to their engagement with digital technologies are also emerging. These concerns are emerging owing to the belief that women are not capable enough to handle digital technologies and may fall prey to untoward and harmful activities. This study tries to understand if and how mothers in rural households become gatekeepers of everyday digital practices of young girls in the global south through in-depth interviews with girls and their mothers living in villages in India. Mothers are found to be reinforcing the patriarchal norms in the mobile phone usage of their daughters and hence, further the concept of patriarchy in the online sphere. This enforcement might emerge as an important factor in gender digital divide in the Global South.