Abstract
<jats:p>Connected Choices: Marriage and Fertility in the Age of Social and Digital Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa explores why early marriage, teen pregnancy, and high fertility remain widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite rising education and decades of development efforts. This dissertation shows that family formation decisions are deeply shaped by social norms. Expectations within ethnic groups, religious communities, and local neighborhoods influence when women marry, how many children they desire, and when they start a family. At the same time, the rapid spread of mobile internet and social media is transforming the information young women receive. Through digital platforms, they are increasingly exposed to new ideas, role models, and alternative life paths. By combining large-scale survey data with digital trace data and mobile network information, this research demonstrates how strong local traditions and expanding digital networks interact. It finds that tighter social norms are linked to earlier marriage and childbirth, while greater digital connectivity is associated with lower fertility, fewer child marriages, and fewer teen pregnancies. Together, these findings offer new insights into how social change unfolds in a rapidly digitizing region.</jats:p>