Investigation of Mobile Phone and Digital Storytelling Among Rural Women in Taraba State

Digital storytelling through mobile devices has democratised content creation globally, and its adoption among rural women in underserved Nigerian communities represents an emerging field of participatory communication with significant development implications. This study investigated mobile phone-based digital storytelling practices among rural women in Taraba State, North East Nigeria. A participatory qualitative design was adopted, combining training workshops with 40 rural women from four communities in Jalingo and Wukari LGAs in basic mobile phone storytelling techniques, followed by analysis of 32 participant-produced digital stories and focus group discussions with participants. Digital stories were assessed for theme selection, narrative structure, production quality, and participant reflections on the process. Focus group data were analysed thematically. Results showed that health and family welfare themes dominated participant-selected story topics (65.6 percent of stories), followed by agricultural challenges (25.0 percent) and community infrastructure (9.4 percent). Participants expressed strong interest in using digital storytelling to advocate for community needs, with 80.0 percent stating they had shared their stories with community leaders or health workers. Barriers included smartphone access limitations (three-quarters relying on borrowed devices), low data literacy, and inadequate battery charging infrastructure. The study concludes that mobile digital storytelling holds transformative potential for rural women's self-expression and advocacy in Taraba State, and recommends investment in low-cost smartphone access programmes and digital literacy training through women's development programmes.

Keywords: digital storytelling, mobile phones, rural women, Taraba State, participatory communication