Information and communication technology in transnational families: Understanding the experiences of children left behind in urban Ethiopia
Eliyas Taha Aliye, Faye Mishna, Ashenafi Hagos Baynesagn · The British Journal of Social Work · 2025
Abstract Despite the tremendous flow of international migration, Ethiopia has not been given due consideration in the literature on transnational families. The current study explored the perspectives of children using information and communication technology (ICT) with their migrant parent(s). A descriptive qualitative approach, which provides rich descriptive content from participants’ perspectives, was employed. We conducted interviews with twenty-five participants from Adama and Addis Ababa. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. Based on the analysis of the interviews, five overlapping themes were revealed: mixed emotional responses to ICT communication, transformation of children’s roles, distance parenting, shifts in contact, and emotional detachment. This study contributes by expanding our understanding of children left behind in Ethiopia and identifying the need for tailored social work services. Equitable digital access in the Ethiopian national child policy is found to be essential, which can be demonstrated by investing in school-based Wi-Fi hubs to facilitate parent–child communication and attachment. By highlighting children’s right to equitable digital access to communication with their migrant parents, this study contributes to child welfare policy across the globe in the context of migration.