Alva Review-Courier -

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

(THE CONVERSATION) Mobile phones are everywhere. In fact, they may be nearly as common on the African savanna as they are on American subways.

With the explosion of mobile technology in developing countries, a common narrative is that phones are transforming poor people’s lives. Phones, the story goes, reduce the effort required to search for information and make commerce more efficient.

As technology has spread, so has research on its effects. With support from the National Geogra...