Overcoming Generational Segregation in ICTs

Abstract

This article is based on the project "Technology in the Heritage of Memory" conducted by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona between July and October 2007. This initiative was part of the multiregional European project "More Equal" (Igualdader), affiliated with the Equal Community Initiative, financed by the European Social Fund. It consisted of a series of workshops on basic computer skills, Internet navigation, and the use of photos and images aimed at women aged between 50 and 65 years, belonging to eight rural municipalities in the Region of Catalonia Montsiá. This study established that the digital divide is not only linked to a difference in the technological equipment or access to broadband. Instead, the main barrier that separates potential users of the network is general knowledge, basic English, and familiarity with hardware. These workshops showed that learning to use technology through cultural components, rhythms, and motives, actually helped the learning process. Thus, women who participated not only achieved a Gender, Technology and Development 15(1) 159-174

Exploring Privilege in the Digital Divide: Implications for Theory, Policy, and Practice

“…Indeed, education is the primary predictive sociodemographic variable identified by several studies and is clearly highlighted in population statistics (Anderson & Perrin, 2016;Office for National Statistics, 2016;Statistics Canada, 2013). The higher the education level, the greater the likelihood an individual is to access and use ICTs, mainly through the use of computers and the Internet (Atkinson et al, 2008;Chang, McAllister, & McCaslin, 2015;Chu, Huber, Mastel-Smith, & Cesario, 2009;Del Prete, Calleja, & Cervera, 2011;Friemel, 2016;Gazibara et al, 2016;Haight Haight et al (2014) have also proclaimed income "in digital divide research as a key source of inequality" and "continues to be a decade later (Haight et al, 2014, p. 514)."…”

“…Atkinson et al, 2008;Birkland & Kaarst-Brown, 2012;Chang et al, 2015;Choudrie, Ghinea, & Songonuga, 2013;Del Prete et al, 2011; Echt & Burridge, 2011;Friemel, 2016; Gazibara et al, 2016;Graham, 2010;Haight et al, 2014;Ihm & Hsieh, 2015;Kania- Lundholm & Torres, 2015;Lee & Kim, 2014;McDonough & Kingsley, 2015; Neves & Amaro, 2012;Niehaves & Plattfaut, 2014; Tirado-Morueta et al, 2016; Wong, Law, Fung, & Lam, 2009; Wright & Hill, 2009). From both an intersectional and Marxist perspective, income and education are not mutually exclusive as one produces returns on the other and vice-versa(Wright & Perrone, 1977).…”

Promoting Media Literacy Among Older People: A Systematic Review

“…Even though some of these articles also included coding in the "use" category, their emphasis was on participants' creative content-production processes, and the use of digital tools was only secondary to that aim. These articles reported on interventions in which older people created their life histories in various formats, such as in a Word file (Gamliel, 2016), a film (Manchester & Facer, 2015), or on DVD and via photo exhibition (Del Prete et al, 2011). One article (Heydon, 2011) reported on an intervention where participants created multimodal presentations of special things and places.…”

Media Literacy for Woman’s Empowerment. A Case Study with Groups of Honduran Indigenous and Rural Women in Vulnerable Situation

“…Although media literacy initiatives have generally been aimed at population groups that are closer to and make regular use of new technologies -indeed, media literacy among these groups has come a long way, and much experience has been gained -there have been groups of people who have not been included in media literacy because of their age or social situation, lack of knowledge of media and limited access to technology, with some significant exceptions (Del Prete et al, 2011;Grijalva-Verdugo, Moreno-Candil, 2017;Quarshie, 2004). Although nobody doubts that writing or reading are skills that a society or group should possess as a whole and within any age range, media literacy is not yet considered a priority in many national policies.…”

“…Given the lack of national media literacy policies, only through this training in non-formal educational environments can these vulnerable groups acquire these skills. When women participate in media literacy courses, the empowerment that they gain reduces discrimination against them (Del Prete et al, 2011). The issue is not only about breaking stereotypes and about training and access to technology among vulnerable groups but also about reducing the generational gap and developing a reflexive act regarding social justice (Nat, 2012) and meeting special educational needs (Kesler et al, 2016).…”