Books

My latest book with Oxford University Press (in press) discusses what I call “transcendent parenting” in many urban societies in Asia today. In the “making” of family, mobile media have come to play a central role, engendering the practice of transcendent parenting throughout every stage of a child’s development. In the wake of mobile media and cloud computing, the scope and scale of parenting obligations have broadened considerably, thereby transcending the physical distance between them and children, transcending every online and offline environment their children transit through, and transcending timeless time as experienced in the apparent ceaselessness of parenting duties.

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While mobile communication diffuses through Asia at a blistering pace, families in the region are also experiencing significant changes in light of unprecedented economic growth, globalisation, urbanisation and demographic shifts. This volume captures the domestication of mobile communication technologies by families in Asia, and its implications for family interactions and relationships against this backdrop. It showcases research on families across a spectrum of socio-economic profiles, from both rural and urban areas, offering insights on children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly. There are chapters on Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. Read the introductory chapter here.

"... this is one of the few titles that focuses on how we can reexamine and rethink the use of digital communication technologies among Asian parents and children as a means of fostering and cementing familial bonds. Lim brings a fresh, balanced and nuanced perspective to examining the impact of ubiquitous communicative technologies in the Asian domestic sphere."
Earvin Cabalquinto, Journal of Children and Media

“…the book clarifies the importance of mobile connectivity among a variety of immigrant groups, making the book relevant well beyond Asia…The book’s greatest strengths are that it extends the focus of migration and mobile communication research from North America and Europe to Asia, and that it takes seriously the understudied groups of migrants.”
Sakari Taipale, Asian Journal of Communication

This volume examines digital phenomena and its impact on Asia by drawing on specifically Asian perspectives. Contributors apply a variety of Asian theoretical frameworks including guanxi, face, qing, dharma and karma in chapters focusing on emerging digital trends in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan. The book presents compelling and diverse research on identity and selfhood, spirituality, social networking, corporate image, and national identity as shaped by and articulated through digital communication platforms.

I edit this Book Series that seeks to thoroughly canvas the research community studying the social impact of mobile communication in Asia, to bring to the forefront research that has not attained a sufficiently international profile. The series is now into its fifth volume with the latest titles focusing on gaming, political participation health, and social intimacies. I welcome proposals for new volumes and work closely with volume editors to develop their ideas.