In contemporary society, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are widely cherished for helping transnational households preserve a coherent sense of familyhood despite geographical separation. Despite ICTs having positive benefits for the maintenance of long-distance intimacies, digital asymmetries characterized by gaps in routines, emotional experiences, and outcomes of ICT use can also emerge between family members of different structural, social, and geographical conditions. Drawing on an innovative “content–context diary”-cum-participant observation, this article investigates the multi-dimensional digital asymmetries emerging from the transnational communication of Chinese “study mothers” in Singapore. Using the data visualization and analysis tool “ecomap,” the findings uncover that study mothers were largely beleaguered by expectation asymmetry and autonomy asymmetry, arising from different expectations to and control over daily transnational communication with their family members. The study mothers were disadvantaged by their relatively isolated life situations in the host society and accentuated gender hierarchies in the household.

中文翻译：

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跨国交流中的数字不对称：家庭中的期望，自治和性别定位

在当代社会中，人们广泛地珍视信息和通信技术（ICT），以帮助跨国家庭在地理上相距遥远的情况下保持一致的家庭意识。尽管信息通信技术对维持长途亲密关系具有积极的好处，但在结构，社会和地理条件不同的家庭成员之间，也会出现以日常工作，情感体验和信息通信技术使用结果为特征的数字不对称现象。本文以创新的“内容-背景日记”暨参与者观察为基础，研究了新加坡华裔“学习母亲”的跨国交流中出现的多维数字不对称现象。使用数据可视化和分析工具“ ecomap，研究结果表明，研究母亲在很大程度上受到期望不对称和自主性不对称的困扰，这是由于对与家人日常跨国交流的不同期望和控制权所致。接受研究的母亲由于其在寄宿社会中相对孤立的生活状况以及家庭中的性别等级制度的加剧而处于不利地位。