A key factor in the study of both Tajikistan's economic position and the way its citizens use media is the country's high levels of labor migration. With so few jobs available in their home country, and especially in rural areas, many Tajiks are forced to go abroad in search of work in order to support their families. Remittances from the more than 1.5 million labor migrants working in Russia and other countries make up 47% of Tajikistan's national GDP.

 

How does this play into media and family life? The main form of communication between diaspora and their families back home is social media. In fact, labor migrants first introduced mobile phones to Tajikistan, having obtained them while working in Russia, so that their family members could communicate with them. Now, migrants even use mobiles to transfer remittances to their families back home. These workers are also able to communicate with other workers in order to find jobs abroad, without having to travel far in search of work.

 

Cell phones also play a role in relationships between young people. Young men and women are able to communicate and get to know one another via mobiles in a culture where pre-marital relationships may be frowned upon. In fact, some older citizens in villages where cell phone relationships are common have voiced concerns about the new form of communication. One girl was disciplined by her family when they discovered her messages with a boy. Other citizens are worried that pornographic videos, which are unprecedented in Tajik villages, will be spread.

 

Another interesting issue raised by cell phone use in Tajikistan is the increase in divorce over text messages. When men working abroad can no longer afford to send money home to their families, some have resorted to sending a divorce text home. This practice is very controversial because affording to one religious leader, "There were no mobiles in the time of the Prophet Muhammad so we don't know if such a divorce is valid."

 

But marriages aren't only ending in Tajikistan over technology, they are starting too. In recent years there has been an increase in Skype weddings between migrant workers and women in Tajikistan. (Ariana)