Mobile Phone Use and Communication Model: A Study of Documented Migrant Workers

. Indonesia is one of the biggest countries in sending migrant workers to many destination countries. According to the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs report, there were 728,870 or 39% of Indonesian workers in Malaysia for 2015. Being far away while working, they rely on their cell phones to keep them in touch with their families. Communication via mobile phones is crucial to the social and emotional support of their nuclear families. It is a qualitative study in which at least seventeen migrant workers were interviewed—informants made up of fourteen documented female workers and three documented male workers working in Penang, Malaysia. Snowball sampling technique was used for the selection of informants. All respondents confirmed that their communication to families via mobile phones discusses their day-to-day affairs, financial management, family needs and dreams. Family communication between migrant workers and families is an interactive model of communication. However, all of the informants stated that this communication model was quite expensive and reduced their income. They often bought a free conversation bonus package to solve the problem.