While Africa has largely been considered a digitally-disconnected country, recent studies have shown that connectivity figures are on a rise. In this paper, we theorize digital wellbeing in a context characterized by a fast-growing number of mobile data users despite a historically low Internet penetration. It is focused on an ongoing ethnographic research on mobile users and digital inequalities in Africa, zooming in on results from an explorative study featuring 10 in-depth interviews with young adult heavy users (more than 4–5 hours a day) and seeking to understand strategies they use in attaining digital wellbeing. The findings show how the sampled young adults (18–30 years old) struggle with the daily realities of digital participation including addiction and generational conflict in technology use. Results also reveal ways through which electronic connectivity is perceived both be a tool of freedom as well as a subtle form of potential digital enslavering.

虽然非洲在很大程度上被认为是一个数字断开的国家，但最近的研究表明，连接数字正在上升。在本文中，尽管互联网普及率处于历史低位，但我们在以移动数据用户数量快速增长为特征的背景下对数字福祉进行了理论分析。它专注于正在进行的关于非洲移动用户和数字不平等的民族志研究，放大了一项探索性研究的结果，该研究对年轻的重度用户（每天超过 4-5 小时）进行了 10 次深度访谈，并试图了解他们在实现数字福祉方面使用的策略。调查结果显示了抽样的年轻人（18-30 岁）如何与数字参与的日常现实作斗争，包括成瘾和技术使用中的代际冲突。