The dark side of information and communication technologies for development: analysing encumbrances as well as affordances
Joseph G. Bock, Md. Ziaul Haque, Kevin McMahon · Development in Practice · 2025
When Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) were first employed in humanitarian relief and development, there was much optimism about liberation of talent for the greater good. Affordance theory offers a helpful way to dissect the ways in which ICTs foster development and facilitate humanitarian relief. But as experience and research began to expose how ICTs can do harm, there has not been an accompanying theoretical shift. We propose that affordance theory be turned on its head. We argue for an analysis of encumbrances, mirroring affordance theory, thereby adding negative impacts of ICTs into rigorous, theory-informed, analyses.