New Media Use in Brazil: Digital Inclusion or Digital Divide?

Sueila Pedrozo 1 *
More Detail
1 University of Turku, Finland
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 3, Issue 1, pp. 144-163. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2415
OPEN ACCESS   2156 Views   1704 Downloads   Published online: 24 Jan 2013
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

The emergence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and, more recently, social network sites and online games brought profound changes to societies and people, particularly to young people. The new media changed communication, interaction, and leisure and provided a locus for identity development and group participation. Although the full impact of digital media on people and society is not yet known, there are already positive as well as negative concerns but new socialities and peer cultures may emerge. In Brazil, mobile phones became the main technology of connectivity, were rapidly adopted and reached all social classes as an example of democratic inclusion; however, the internet still lags behind as a result of socioeconomic, educational, and demographic inequalities that still prevail, cause the digital exclusion and place the Brazilian population at an unfavorable position. More public policies can convert the internet into a tool of citizenship so that the low-income people, especially the young, can benefit from it and become participants in the digital age. Future research should address these issues.
Keywords: mobile phone, internet, social network, inequality, digital divide, youth

CITATION

Pedrozo, S. (2013). New Media Use in Brazil: Digital Inclusion or Digital Divide?. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 3(1), 144-163. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2415

REFERENCES

  • Agência Brasil (2011, January 1). Retrieved March10, 2012 from http://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/node/641696
  • Avgerou, C., & Madon, S. (2005). Information society and the digital divide problem in developing countries. In J. Berleur & C. Avgeroui (Eds.), Perspectives and policies on ICT in society (pp.205-218). New York, NY: Springer. Retrieved February 15, 2012 from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/2576/1/Information_society_and_the_digital_divide_problem _in_developing_countries_%28LSERO%29.pdf
  • Barja, G., & Gigler, B.S. (2007). The concept of information poverty and how to measure it in the Latin American context. In H. Galperín & J. Mariscal (Eds.), Digital poverty: Latin America and Caribbean perspectives (pp.11-28). Ottawa, CA: IDCR.
  • Baym, N. K. (2010). Personal connections in the digital age. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
  • Bocock, R. (2001). Consumption. (4 th ed). London: Routledge.
  • Boomen, M.V.D., Lammes, S., & Lehmann, A.S. (2009). Introduction: From the virtual to matters of fact and concern. In M.V.D. Boomen, S. Lammes, A.S. Lehmann, J. Raessens, & M.T. Schäfer (Eds.), Digital material: Tracing new media in everyday life and technology (pp.7-17). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Boyd, D. (2008). Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life. MacArthur Foundation in Digital Learning. In D. Buckingham (Ed.), Youth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume (pp.119-142). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  • Bure, C. (2005). Digital inclusion without social inclusion: The consumption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) within homeless subculture in Scotland. The Journal of Community Informatics, 1, (2), 116-133. Retrieved November 5, 2011 from http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/issue/view/14
  • Castells, M. (2001). The Internet galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, business and society. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  • Castells, M., Fernandez-Ardevol, M. & Qiu, J. L. (2006). Mobile communication and society: A global perspective. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  • Chen, W., Boase, J., & Wellman, B. (2002). The global villagers: Comparing internet users and uses around the world. In B. Wellman & C. Haythornthwaite (Eds.), The internet in everyday life (pp.74-113). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
  • Cooper, G. (2002). The mutable mobile: Social theory in the wireless world. In B. Brown, N. Green, & R. Harper (Eds.), Wireless world: Social and interactional aspects of the mobile age (pp.19-31). London: Springer-Verlag.
  • De Bruijn, M., Nyamnjoh, F., & Brinkman, I. (2009). Introduction: Mobile communications and new social spaces. In M. De Bruijn, Nyamnjoh, F., & I. Brinkman (Eds.), Mobile phones: The new talking drums of everyday Africa (pp. 11-22). Cameroon: Langaa.
  • DiMaggio, P., Hargittai, E., Neuman, R. W., & Robinson, J. P. (2001). Social implications of the internet. Annual Review of Sociology 27, 307-336. doi: 10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.307
  • Fortunati, L. (2002). The mobile phone: Towards new categories and social relations. Information, Communication and Society 5 (4), 513-528. doi: 10.1080/13691180208538803
  • Fortunati, L., & Manganelli, A. M. (2002). A review of the literature on ICT in Italy. SIGIS Report. METIS Centre: Italy.
  • Fortunati, L. (2003). The mobile phone and democracy: An ambivalent relationship. In K. Nyíri (Ed.), Mobile democracy: Essays on society, self and politics (pp.239-258). Bielefeld, DE: Passagen Verlag.
  • Fortunati, L. (2006). User design and the democratization of the mobile phone. First Monday, 7, Special issue. Retrieved October 6, 2011 from http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1615/1530
  • Gergen, K. J. (2003). Self and the community in the floating worlds. In K. Nyíri (Ed.), Mobile democracy: Essays on society, self and politics (pp.103-114). Bielefeld, DE: Passagen Verlag.
  • Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in late modernity. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
  • Graham, S. (2002). Bridging urban digital divides? Urban polarisation and information and communication technologies (ICTs). Urban Studies 39 (1), 33-56. doi: 10.1080/00420980220099050.
  • Gunkel, D. J. (2003). Second thoughts: Toward a critique of the digital divide. New Media and Society, 15 (4), 499-522. doi: 10.1177/146144480354003.
  • Guo, Z., & Wu, M. (2009). Dancing thumbs: Mobile phone in contemporary China. In X. Zhang & Y. Zheng (Eds.), China's information and communications technology revolution (pp. 34-51). Oxon, UK: Routledge.
  • Haddon, L. (2004). Information and communication technologies in everyday life: A concise introduction and research guide. Oxford, UK: Berg.
  • Hargittai, E. (2002). Second-level digital divide: Differences in people's online skills. First Monday 7 (4). Retrieved March 2, 2012 from http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/942/864
  • Harper, R. (2003). Are mobiles good or bad for society? In K. Nyíri (Ed.), Mobile democracy: essays on society, self and politics (pp. 185-214). Bielefeld, DE: Passagen Verlag.
  • Henwood, F., Wyatt, S., Miller, N., & Senker, P. (2000). Critical perspectives on technologies, inequalities and the information society. In S. Wyatt, F. Henwood, N. Miller, & P. Senker (Eds.), Technology and in/equality: Questioning the information society (pp.227-241). London: Routledge.
  • Horst, H.A. (2011). Free, social and inclusive: Appropriation and resistance of new media technologies in Brazil. International Journal of Communication 5, 437-462. Retrieved March 3, 2012 from http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/699/531
  • Horst, H.A., & Wallis, C. (2011). Special Section: New media in international contexts. Introduction. International Journal of Communication 5, 463-470. Retrieved March 3, 2012 from http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/1092/533
  • Hossain, M., Kathuria, R., & Islam, I. (2010). South Asian economic development (2nd ed.). Oxon, UK: Routledge.
  • IBGE (2008). Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Retrieved January 7, 2012 from www.ibge.gov.br/estatistica/populacao/acessoainternet2008/internet.pdf
  • Ito, M., Baumer, S., Bittanti, M., Boyd, D., Cody, R., Herr-Stephenson, B. et al. (2009). Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out: Kids living and learning with new media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  • Lehdonvirta, V., & Räsänen, P. (2010). How do young people identify with online and offline peer groups? A comparison between UK, Spain and Japan. Journal of Youth Studies 14 (1), 1-18. doi: 10.1080/13676261.2010.506530
  • Lefebvre, H. (1971). Everyday life in the modern world. London: Allen Lane.
  • Lie, M., & Sørensen, K.H. (1996). Making technology our own? Domesticating technology into everyday life. Oxford: Scandinavian University Press.
  • Lievrouw, L. A. (2001). New media and the 'pluralization of life-worlds'. New Media and Society 3 (1), 7-28. doi: 10.1177/1461444801003001002.
  • Light, J. (2001). Rethinking the digital divide. Harvard Educational Review 71 (4), 709-733.
  • Ling, R. (2004). The mobile connection: The cell phone's impact on society. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann.
  • Ling, R., & Horst, H. A. (2011). Mobile communication in the global south. New Media & Society 13 (3), 363-374. doi: 10.1177/1461444810393899
  • Livingstone, S. (2008). Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation:teenagers' use of social networking sites for intimacy, privacy and self-expression. New Media & Society 10 (3), 393-411. doi: 10.1177/1461444808089415
  • Livingstone, S. (2003). Young people and new media. London: Sage.
  • Manago, A.M., Graham, M.B., Greenfield, P.M., & Salimkhan, G. (2008). Self-presentation and gender on MySpace. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 29 (6), 446- 458. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.07.001
  • Miles, I., & Gershuny, J. (1987). The social economics of information technology. In R. Finnegan, G. Salaman, & K. Thompson (Eds.), Information technology social issues: A reader (pp.209-224). London: Hodder and Stoughton.
  • Mossberger, K. (2003). Virtual inequality: Beyond the digital divide. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
  • Murdock, G., Hartmann, P., & Gray, P. (1992). Contextualizing home computing: Resources and practices. In R. Silverstone & E. Hirsch (Eds.), Consuming technologies: Media and information in domestic spaces (pp.146-160). London: Routledge.
  • Näsi, M., Räsänen, P., & Lehdonvirta, V. (2011). Identification with online and offline communities: Understanding disparities in Finland. Technology in Society 33, 4-11. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2011.03.003
  • Neumayer, C., Raffl, C., & Bichler, R.M. (2010). Politics and social software: Recommendations for inclusive ICTs. In D. Riha & A.Maj (Eds.), Emerging practices in cyberculture and social networking (pp.41-62). Amsterdam: Editions Rodopi.
  • Newman, L. A., Biedrzycki, K., & Baum, F. (2010). Digital technology access and use among socially and economically disadvantaged groups in South Australia. Journal of Community Informatics 6 (2). Retrieved September 15, 2011 from http://cijournal.net/index.php/ciej/issue/view/32
  • Norris, P. (2001). Digital divide: Civic engagement, information poverty, and the internet. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press
  • Olinto, G., & Fragoso, S. (2011). Internet use and community informatics in Brazil: Speeding up or lagging behind? Community Informatics 7 (1-2), 1-14. Retrieved February 13, 2012 from http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/835/725
  • Ono, H., & Zavodny, M. (2007). Digital inequality: A five country comparison using microdata. Social Science Research, 36 (3), 1135-1155. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2006.09.001.
  • Ottestad, G., & Quale, A. (2009). Trends in instructional ICT infrastructure. In Tj. Plomp, R. E. Anderson, N. Law & A. Quale (Eds.), Cross-National Information and Communication Technology: Policies and Practices in Education (2nd ed.) (41-64). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
  • Palfrey, J., & Gasser, U. (2008). Born digital: Understanding the first generation of digital natives. New York, NY: Basic Books.
  • Papacharissi, Z. (2011). Conclusion: A networked self. In Z. Papacharissi (Ed.), A networked self: Identity, community and culture on social network sites, 304-318. New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Pedrozo, S. (2011). To be 'cool'or not to be 'cool': Young people's insights on consumption and social issues in Rio de Janeiro. Journal of Youth Studies, 14, (1), 109-123.
  • Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P.M. (2006). Adolescents' internet use: Testing the 'disappearing digital divide' versus the 'emerging digital differentiation' approach. Poetics 34, 293– 305. doi:10.1016/j.poetic.2006.05.005.
  • Räsänen, P. (2006). Information society for all? Structural characteristics of internet use in 15 European countries. European Societies 8 (1), 59-81. doi: 10.1080/14616690500491423.
  • Recuero, R. (2008). Redes sociais na internet [Social networks on the internet]. Porto Alegre: Editora Sulina.
  • Recuero, R. (2008a). Information flows and social capital in Weblogs: A case study in the Brazilian blogosphere. In ACM Conference on Hypertext and Hypermedia 2008, Pittsburgh, Proceedings of Hypertext. Retrieved December 3, 2011 from http://pontomidia.com.br/raquel/ht08fp009recuerofinal.pdf
  • Recuero, R. (2008b). Appropriations of Fotolog as social network site: A Brazilian case study. In Internet Research Conference 9.0. Copenhagen. Proceedings of IR 9.0, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2011 from http://pontomidia.com.br/raquel/aoir2007.pdf
  • Santos, Rogério Santanna dos (2009) Cresce o acesso às TICs, mas ainda é grande o desafio de democratizá-las a todos os brasileiros [ICT access grows but is a great challenge to democratize to all Brazilians]. Pesquisa sobre o uso das tecnologias da informação e da comunicação [Research on ICTs' use], pp. 45-48. Retrieved from July 14, 2011 from http://cgi.br/publicacoes/artigos/artigo58.htm.
  • Schlegel, R. (2009). Internauta Brasileiro: Perfil diferenciado, opiniões indiferenciadas [Brazilian internet user: Different profiles, similar opinions]. Revista de Sociologia e Politica 17 (34), 137-157. doi: 10.1590/S0104-44782009000300011
  • Schwittay, A. (2011). New media practices in India: Bridging past and future, markets and developments. International Journal of Communication 5, 349-379. Retrieved January 11, 2012 from http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/702/528
  • Selwyn, N. (2004). Reconsidering political and popular understandings of the digital divide. New Media and Society 6 (3), 341-362. doi: 10.1177/1461444804042519.
  • Servon, L. J. (2002). Bridging the digital divide: Technology, community, and public policy. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
  • Silveira, S. A. (2003). Exclusão digital [Digital exclusion]. São Paulo: Fundação Editora Perseu Abramo.
  • Silverstone, R., & Hirsch, E. (1994). Introduction. In: Silverstone, R. & Hirsch, E. (Eds.), Consuming technologies: media and information in domestic spaces (pp.1-11). London: Routledge.
  • Sorj, B. (2003). Brasil@povo.com [Brazil@people.com]. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar.
  • Suoranta, J. (2003). The world divided in two: Digital divide information and communication technologies, and the 'youth question'. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies 1 (2). Retrieved February 5, 2012 from http://www.jceps.com/index.php?pageID=article&articleID=16
  • Teather, D. (2000, October). Half of all Britons own mobile phones. The Guardian. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2000/oct/05/uknews
  • Thomas, G., & Wyatt, S. (2000). Access is not the only problem: Using and controlling the internet. In S. Wyatt, F. Henwood, N. Miller & P. Senker (Eds.), Technology and in/equality: Questioning the information society (pp.21-45). London: Routledge.
  • Van Dijk, J. (1999). The network society: Social aspects of new media. London: Sage.
  • Van Dijk, J., & Hacker, K. (2003). The digital divide as a complex and dynamic phenomenon. The Information Society 19, 315-326. doi: 10.1080/01972240390227895.
  • Van Dijk, J. (2005). The deepening divide: Inequality in the information society. London: Sage.
  • Van Dijk, J. (2006). Digital divide research, achievements and shortcomings. Poetics 34 (4- 5), 221-235. doi: 10.1016/j.poetic.2006.05.004.
  • Waechter, N., Subrahmanyam, K. Reich, S.M., & Espinoza, G. (2010). Youth connecting online: From chat rooms to social networking sites. In D. Riha & A. Maj (Eds.), Emerging practices in cyberculture and social networking (pp.151-178). Amsterdam: Editions Rodopi.
  • Warschauer, M. (2004). Technology and social inclusion: Rethinking the digital divide. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  • Watkins, S.C. (2009). The young and the digital. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
  • Wijers, G. D. M. (2010). Determinants of the digital divide: A study on IT development in Cambodia. Technology in Society 32 (4), 336-341. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2010.10.011
  • Willis, P. (2000). The ethnographic imagination. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
  • Wilska, T-A., & Pedrozo, S. (2007). New technology and young people's consumer identities: A comparative study between Finland and Brazil. Young, 15, (4), 343- 368.
  • Wyatt, S., Henwood, F., Miller, N., & Senker, P. (2000). Technology and in/equality: Questioning the information society. London: Routledge.