digital diaspora: how immigrants are capitalizing on today's technology
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Research on immigrant innovative usage of mobile technology in Philadelphia.TRANSCRIPT
WELCOMING CENTER for NEW PENNSYLVANIANS
Digital Diaspora How Immigrants are Capitalizing on Today’s Technology
Summary of Report Findings
November 2012
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The Data You’re About to See...
• This presentation covers
high-level findings
• A detailed report with
methodology and survey
questions is available at:
www.welcomingcenter.org/tech
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Diaspora: Movement, Migration, or Scattering
People scattered by migration
are reuniting themselves through
mobile technology.
Their rapid re-connection is
reshaping our world.
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The Impetus: An Untold Story
• We saw that immigrant entrepreneurs and journalists
were using mobile technology in innovative ways
• We also noticed that virtually all our immigrant clients
had cell phones, and often had smart phones
• Mainstream research on technology usage did not
seem to have documented these phenomena
And so…
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Setting Out to Collect Rigorous and Verifiable Data
• Survey protocol developed and beta-tested with diverse pool of
respondents
• Official survey fielded between July 1 and August 31, 2012
• Mixture of in-person interviews and online surveys
• Follow-ups with community leaders
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From Bhutan to Syria: Our Sample Population
• 118 respondents (79 online
surveys; 39 oral interviews)
• 50% male and 50% female
• Born in 43 countries (and one
U.S. territory)
• Working age (18-64 years old)
• Half have lived in the US for 5
years or less
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In Perspective: Comparing the US Immigrant Population to Philadelphia Area
13%
28%
4%
53%
3%
21%
40%
8%
29%
2%
Europe Asia + MiddleEast
Africa Latin America +Caribbean
Other
Philadelphia Area Immigrants Are More Diverse Than Nationally
United States: Philadelphia area:
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• Survey respondents spoke 19
different languages
• Many respondents reported
speaking three or four
languages
• Languages included:
– Estonian (Eastern Europe)
– Kissi & Wolof (West Africa)
– Malayalam (South Asia)
– Tamazight (North Africa)
Strong Multilingual Skills
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Key Informants
• We supplemented our survey with
interviews of a dozen community
leaders
• Men and women from a diverse
range of backgrounds helped us
illuminate our findings via specific
examples
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Establishing Strict Statistical Standards
• Draft survey protocol and proposed data
collection process approved by Ph.D. evaluator
and university instructor
• Following data collection, data analysis plan
reviewed and approved as well
• Data input into Excel, then analyzed in SPSS
• All findings statistically significant; p=.05 or less.
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Comparing Immigrant Respondents to the US Public
• An in-depth search yielded no
existing data sets or reports on
immigrant technology usage
• Our comparison data comes from the
Pew Internet & American Life Project
• Throughout this presentation, we will
refer to both the US public overall
and to US smart phone users
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What We Found
Immigrants have embraced mobile
technology to an extraordinary
degree. Their utilization is:
I. Personal and social
II. Global and interactive
III. Inventive and entrepreneurial
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Part I: Personal and Social
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In a Nutshell: Our Findings in One Graph
Sources: Statistics on all US cell phone users & smartphone users from Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2011. Pew does not specifically ask about nativity, but as a national
sample will inevitably include immigrants. Statistics on immigrants from the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians' Digital Diaspora report, 2012.
*Welcoming Center survey combined video & audio recordings
+Pew data combined photos & videos
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Enthusiastic Consumers, Willing to Shop Around
Immigrants are overwhelmingly using
cell phones. A majority are using
smart phones and unlimited plans.
When major carriers aren’t providing
what they need, immigrants are
turning to smaller carriers for
services such as international calling
plans.
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Investing in Unlimited Phone Plans
Unlimited 57%
Family plan 24%
Specific # of minutes
15%
Not sure 4%
Many Immigrants Opt for Unlimited Mobile Plans
N=82
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Latino Immigrants Are Especially Likely to Purchase Unlimited Plans
73%
54%
37% 35%
Latin Amer. &Caribbean
Africa Europe Asia & MiddleEast
Nearly 3 in 4 Latin American & Caribbean Immigrants Purchase
Unlimited Plans
N=93
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Coming to America, Staying in Touch with the World
• New & longtime
immigrants alike
overwhelmingly stay in
touch with others abroad
• Family and friends are
natural contacts
• Business, political, and
media contacts are
common as well
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Arriving in the US Already Fluent in SMS
95%
61%
Immigrants All US Adults
Immigrants More Likely to Text than Overall US Population
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Using Their Phones to the Fullest Capacity
• Overall, 73% of all immigrant
respondents send emails by phone,
including 43% who do so often
• In comparison, just 31% of US adults
overall send email via phone
• Like US adults overall, immigrant
women are more likely to send email
(79% compared to 58% of men)
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For 2 out of 3 Immigrants, Mobile Means Social
• 65% of immigrant
respondents use their
phones to update social
media (compared to 24%
of US adults overall)
• US-based services are
popular, but so are
international sites
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57%
77%
48%
88%
Men
Women
New Arrivals
Longest-TermResidents
Women & Longest-Term Residents More Likely to Use Mobile Phones for
Navigation
N=98
GPS: Finding the Way with Mobile Phones
N=101
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Highly Responsive to Mobile Payment Options
• Immigrants are nearly
30% more likely than
U.S. smart phone users to
report paying bills by phone
• Overall, 47% of immigrants
report doing so
67%
52%
40%
19%
Latin America &Caribbean
Africa Europe Asia & MiddleEast
Mobile Bill-Paying is Most Popular Among Latino, African &
Caribbean Immigrants
N=104
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More Likely to Make Purchases Via Mobile
Population Percentage
All US Adult Mobile Owners 20%*
All US Smart Phone Owners 29-34%**
Immigrant Respondents 35%
*Data from Harris Interactive, commissioned by Placecast
**Data from Nielsen and Harris Interactive, respectively
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39%
43%
40%
8%
11 or more years
6-10 years
2-5 years
Less than 2 years N=97
After Initial Acculturation
Immigrants Become Robust Mobile Shoppers
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Part II: Global and Interactive
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Creating & Sharing
Activity Immigrant
Respondents
Overall US
Cell Phone
Owners
Record video
or audio 70% 34%*
Upload video
or audio 47% 22%**
Take photos 89% 73%
Upload photos 62% 22%**
*Pew survey looked at video production only
**Pew survey combined photo and video into
one category
Sources: Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, Pew Internet & American Life Project
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Immigrant-Created Content
Shapes Perceptions Across the Globe
The Diaspora Voice is a weekly TV show
profiling Kenyans across the United States
Chris Wamalwa, Host
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Immigrants Keep Close Ties
with International Contacts
93%
88%
73% 67%
Less than 2 years 2-5 years 6-10 years 11+ years
Recent Arrivals Make the Most International Calls
N=104
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Skype Usage is High for Most Immigrants
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Staying Up-to-Date With Home Country News
9%
23%
28% 31%
47%
52%
64%
Twitter TextMessage
Online radio Newspaper Facebook Phone calls Website
Immigrants Learn Home Country News Online & Through Personal Contacts
N=118
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Facebook Explodes As a Source for Int’l News
50%
69%
48%
14%
Under age 30 Age 30-39 Age 40-49 Age 50+
Adults of Most Ages Rely on Facebook for International News Links
N=108
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Most Immigrants Turn to Facebook for News
Though Some Face Home-Country Restrictions
28%
35%
56%
69%
Asia & Middle East* Europe Latin Amer. &Caribbean
Africa
Facebook Skyrockets As Source for International News
*Facebook is
widely blocked
in China and
thus less likely
to be used by
Chinese
immigrants for
home-country
news.
N=109
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Part III: Inventive and Entrepreneurial
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Entrepreneur Spotlight: Lokalty
Balu Chandrasekaran
Co-Founder
• Tech startup founded by three
Wharton grads
• Rewards program for locally owned
independent businesses
• Capitalizes on mobile usage among
young, tech-savvy shoppers
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Using Multimedia to Disseminate Knowledge
• Immpreneur, a website for immigrant
entrepreneurs, launched in 2010
• Today, the site offers dozens of videos on
topics such as:
– Becoming a franchise owner
– Obtaining small-business financing
– Boosting retail sales
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In Commerce, Images Can Speak Louder than Words
• Abu, a street vendor, uses his mobile to
send photos of merchandise to
prospective customers
• By doing so, he maintains relationships
with customers who live outside his
neighborhood
• Photos also allow him to communicate
more about his product than his language
skills permit
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Radio Renaissance
57%
1 in 2 Immigrants Listen to Radio by Mobile
More than half (57%) of immigrants report
listening to radio via their mobile devices.
Listening options include:
• US-based AM/FM stations with online streams
• Traditional radio stations based abroad
• Online-only services such as Pandora or Spotify
• Specialized stations (such as Haitian gospel
music) tailored for immigrant populations
And one more surprising source…
N=118
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When that “Conference Call” is a Radio Show
Radio host Souleymane Diallo,
in his US apartment
(Photo Credit: Abdulai Bah, WYNC)
Using “Free Conference Call” technology,
African immigrants have pioneered a new
approach to community radio
Dozens of shows air each week in French,
Fulani, and other languages
Listeners simply dial a long-distance number
and enter the conference code. The only cost is
in cell phone minutes
Hosts can “DJ” the show from a bedroom or
kitchen table, using a web-based interface
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Beyond Dictionaries: Phones as Acculturation Tools
• Many respondents use their
phones to learn English
vocabulary or translate articles
• Others use mobile technology to
practice information they need for
their jobs – such as a restaurant
cashier who must memorize an
order-input screen
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A New Window on Rites of Passage
• Immigrants turn to mobile technology to
transmit emotionally resonant and
powerful events such as graduations.
• One family had a son who was injured
while serving in the military abroad. A
friend brought an iPad to the military
hospital so the son could reassure his
parents via video chat.
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When Migration Jump-Starts Technological Literacy
• An Algerian respondent told us
that coming to the US inspired her
to learn how to use a computer for
communication
• She recently “attended” a family
wedding via iPad, including
dressing up for the occasion and
then “dancing” with guests!
• Migration provides powerful
incentives for learning new skills in
language and technology
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What Does All this Mean?
Catching Up with the New Reality
A new population of
immigrant technology users
is highly engaged,
remarkably savvy, and
fearlessly inventive.
Learn more at:
welcomingcenter.org/tech
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About the Welcoming Center
The Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians is a nonprofit economic development organization.
We support immigrant integration into the social, political, and economic life of the Philadelphia region.
Our research and publications document the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs, workers, and families.
Learn more at www.welcomingcenter.org
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Amanda Bergson-Shilcock
1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Ste. 555
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-557-2835