This article explores the practice of “beeping” or “missed calling” between mobile phone users, or calling a number and hanging up before the mobile’s owner can pick up the call. Most beeps are requests to call back immediately, but they can also send a pre-negotiated instrumental message such as “pick me up now” or a relational sign, such as “I’m thinking of you”. The practice itself is old, with roots in landline behaviors, but it has grown tremendously, particularly in the developing world. Based on interviews with small business owners and university students in Rwanda, this document identifies three kinds of beeps (callback, pre-negotiated instrumental, and relational) and the norms governing their use
Type: Report
Region: Africa, Global
Category: Other
Organisation/Author: Jonathan Donner