Introduction

Developmental discourses on the introduction, diffusion, or domestication of new technology emphasise the affordances new technologies and their attendant devices offer, and their influence on the lives of users of new technologies. While neither linear nor deterministic, such discourses still convey the idea that new technologies are responsible for changes to the lives of their users, and that users welcome or dislike these changes. However, as the studies collected here demonstrate, users of different forms of ICT devices often focus less on the various affordances of new technologies and are more concerned with their integration into the users’ pre-existing life-styles and attendant habits and usages. The users’ life-styles and their socioeconomic context to a large extent determine how a specific technological device is employed and given meaning.