🤖 AI Summary
This study addresses the underexplored phenomenon of information and communication technology (ICT) non-use among migrant populations during migration processes. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 32 migrants in El Paso, Texas, and employing a three-stage migration framework, the research uncovers intentional and unintentional ICT avoidance behaviors shaped by risk perceptions, institutional demands, and temporal dynamics across migration phases. It identifies three distinct forms of non-use—device-related, informational, and protective—and argues that non-use functions both as an individual protective strategy and as a response to systemic exclusion. Rather than framing non-use as a technological failure, the paper positions it as a critical design premise. Building on these insights, the study proposes forward-looking design principles centered on non-use to foster more inclusive human-computer interaction practices.
📝 Abstract
People experiencing migration endure many transitions across borders, technologies, and social systems. While HCI research often emphasizes this community's adoption of technology, less attention has been paid to practices of technological non-use. This paper investigates how information and communication technologies (ICTs) are intentionally and unintentionally avoided, withheld, or not used during migration. Drawing on interviews with 32 people experiencing migration in the border city of El Paso, Texas, USA between February and May 2025, we identify a range of non-use experiences, including device, informational, and protective non-use. We extend the concept of non-use by situating it within the three phases of transitions: understanding, negotiating, and resolving. We show how ICT non-use shifts with time, risk, and institutional demands. Our analysis demonstrates that non-use functions both as a protective strategy and as a response to systemic exclusion, and concludes with design principles that anticipate non-use as both intentional and unintentional design conditions rather than as punitive failure.