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Katy Pearce #ttw12

by Katy Pearce

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Description:Access to the Internet, type of access, as well as activities engaged in online are often demographically determined. In developing countries, Mobile phones are a common, and frequently lauded, form of Internet access. And while it is true that mobile phones are allowing more socially excluded people access to the Internet, few have explored the differences in Internet activities between those with computer-based Internet and the mobile-only users.This study, using a 2011 nationally representative survey from Armenia, finds that although mobile Internet is used by a much wider demographic population, the activities which mobile-only Internet users engage in are very different from PC-based Internet users. Furthermore, using a personal computer is a stronger determinant of Internet activity engagement than any socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. And these socioeconomic and demographic characteristics are often more important in determining engagement in an Internet activities for mobile-only users (example: only mobile-only users with high educational attainment use search engines, otherwise it remains in the domain of personal computer-based Internet users).Thus, despite overcoming digital inequalities related to access, an activity divide exists for mobile-only Internet users in Armenia.
Much of the theorizing of the web is conducted by those of us (selves included) for whom the "web" is always on, and is available through multiple devices. This certainly influences our theorizing.The device divide - the differences in personal computer and mobile phone-based Internet access - has important implications for social exclusion being reaffirmed through technology use. Using a study of Internet users with different device access abilities, we look at the ways that users engage with the Internet (which sometimes includes the Web but often does not).Moreover, looking at the contributions of both demographic characteristics and primary Internet access device to the activities that people engage with is a novel way to explore digital inequalities.So this study takes both demographics and devices into consideration to see what influences different internet activities the most. This is important in this developing country context especially because of the high use of mobile Internet… so let’s look at what the device landscape looks like
So this study takes both demographics and devices into consideration to see what influences different internet activities the most. This is important in this developing country context especially because of the high use of mobile Internet… so let’s look at what the device landscape looks like
Multistage cluster sampling with preliminary stratification by urban/rural areas and by administrative regions.Sampling frame: Household address list of electricity users (physical persons only) was provided by the Armenian Electricity Networks (CJSC). The following steps were implemented within a four-stage sampling approach: Grouping of electricity network branches into administrative regions; stratifying the sample proportionately by administrative region and by urban and rural areas. Random selection of Primary Sampling Units (PSUs), or clusters, within the administrative regions; each cluster comprised an average of 500 households and usually corresponded to an electricity transformation station. Selection of households (final sampling units) within PSUs was performed by a random selection method. Selection of respondents within households was performed by the next-birthday method.Settlement
Just to set the stage, here are some things to know about this region…Armenia is an oligarchical government, with ties to a global diaspora. Lots of poverty, obviously, but it could be worse without the large amount of labor migration.Azerbaijan is an authoritarian petrostate, richer than its neighbors, but that, obviously hasn’t trickled down.Armenia and Azerbaijan have had a ceasefire for 17 years and neither side wants to resolve the conflict because they profit from the uncertainity.Georgia had a democratic revolution in the mid-2000s and while the government is more democratic than its neighbors are, they have a bit of a benevolent dictatorship tendency… oh, and a war with Russia due to many breakway regions.Armenia 2010Azerbaijan 2010Georgia 2010% Employed374229So, this region doesn’t lack in interesting things going on!
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You can see that for the country as a whole, most Internet users are personal computer based – although mobile is not insignificant. In the capital, PC dominates, but for rural users, mobile is catching up to PC.And those mobile users are often NEW users.TOTAL total Yerevan Regional city Rural N = 1420 N = 504 N = 443 N = 473None 70% 57% 67% 87%Mobile 5% 4% 6% 4%PC 22% 31% 25% 8%Both 3% 7% 1% 1%OF INTERNET USERS Total Yerevan Urban Rural N = 420 N = 215 N = 145 N = 60Mobile 15% 10% 19% 28%PC 71% 73% 77% 62%Both 11% 17% 4% 10%
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Economic wellbeingPC-only users and those with both are better of economically than either mobile-only users or non-users. There is no difference between mobile-only users and non-users, however. This implies that mobile only Internet is available to less economic well-off Armenians.EducationPC-only users are better educated than any other device category, followed by mobile-only, those with both, and non-users (but only slightly significantly different).EnglishPC-only and those user with both have significantly higher English language proficiency than mobile-only users and non-users. Mobile-only users have higher English proficiency than non-users.AgeNon-users are the oldest with a mean age of 50. PC-only users are on average 36 years old. Mobile only and both users are on average 26 and 27 years old, but not significantly different from each other in age.UrbannessAny Internet use is more likely to be urban than a non-user, with those with both being likely to be capital city residents.
Economic wellbeingPC-only users and those with both are better of economically than either mobile-only users or non-users. There is no difference between mobile-only users and non-users, however. This implies that mobile only Internet is available to less economic well-off Armenians.EducationPC-only users are better educated than any other device category, followed by mobile-only, those with both, and non-users (but only slightly significantly different).EnglishPC-only and those user with both have significantly higher English language proficiency than mobile-only users and non-users. Mobile-only users have higher English proficiency than non-users.AgeNon-users are the oldest with a mean age of 50. PC-only users are on average 36 years old. Mobile only and both users are on average 26 and 27 years old, but not significantly different from each other in age.UrbannessAny Internet use is more likely to be urban than a non-user, with those with both being likely to be capital city residents.
So with these personas in mind
For mobile Internet, economic wellbeing, education, English and gender don’t matter. And urbanness only matters a bit. Age does still matter though. This may indicate that mobile Internet, at least in Armenia, is available for those outside of the traditional demographic determinants of Internet access. And that’s a good thing.For PC-only, English, urbanness, education, gender, economic wellbeing, and age do matter. Those that have both are determined by urbanness (in a big way), economic wellbeing, education and English, as well as age. Okay, so what about the activities?So first, let’s look at the relationship between demographics and device choice – the top standardized beta is for mobile-only use, the second is for PC-only use, and the third is for both.For mobile Internet, economic wellbeing, education, English and gender don’t matter. And urbanness only matters a bit. Age does still matter though. This may indicate that mobile Internet, at least in Armenia, is available for those outside of the traditional demographic determinants of Internet access. And that’s a good thing.For PC-only, English, urbanness, education, gender, economic wellbeing, and age do matter. Those that have both are determined by urbanness (in a big way), economic wellbeing, education and English, as well as age.
So with these personas in mind
Work, IM, SNS, read news, and search only sig diffs
Driven by the quantitative results that I’ve explain in a moment and augmented by interviews and ethnographic observations, I want to tell stories…
So in a moment I’ll bring this back around, but let’s consider – are Arsen’s internet activities driven by his lifestyle or is it that he has internet from a mobile phone?Arsen is 34 years old (check with stats) with a high school education and lives in the village of XXX in the home of his retired parents. His wife, Syuzanna is 25 years old and is employed as a teacher in the village school. They have 2 young children.: Kristine, age 4 and baby Samvel, age 2. His older brother Karlen is a labor migrant in Russia. Karlen's wife Marine and their 3 children also live in the house.With Syuzanna's job, his parents' pensions, and his older brother's remittances meeting most of the family's needs, Arsen is able to work irregularly. He helps drive tomatoes to the regional city market, but is unwilling to work in the family's plot of land or take a construction job. Arsen tried to go to Russia two years ago to work with his brother on a construction site, but his promised job fell through. The second son does not have the same social obligations as his older brother. He’s parents are usually of an age to be receiving pension from the state. They might have a small farm that they tend to to keep busy and perhaps the second son goes to market to sell these items. But, other than these trips, the son is not expected to do much.With his mother caring for her grandchildren, Arsen has a fairly leisurely existence. Waking up late and being fed by his mother, Arsen used to spend his days watching television and hanging out with his cousins, smoking and drinking coffee. Last fall he got A TYPE of phone with AN INTERNET PACKAGE. He has had an Odnoklassniki profile for a few years, but with his old phone, he was only able to send messages. With his new phone he is able to use many more features of Odnoklassniki play games, watch videos, and most often, look at provocative(??) photos of women. He and his cousins pass their phones to each other and enjoy ogling the soft core images together. One of his cousins signed up for VivaCell's MOBILE TV NAME? program and for 400 dram (convert), so they can watch television shows from Yerevan. Sometimes they watch WHAT KIND OF SHOWS? sports? together. Arsen
MAYBE CUTHere’s another mobile only user – this type not villagers, but a family in a regional city – STORYCertainly their use is influenced by Vahe’s migration, but how do their characteristics engage with the fact that they’re using mobile only for internet?Narine, age 28 and her husband Vahe, age 33, are a married couple in the regional city of Vanadzor. They met at the regional university, where Vahe was studying SOMETHING and Narine was studying pedagogy. They married soon after finishing school and moved into Vahe's mother's home. Vahe's father passed away when Vahe was in high school.Vahe is a migrant laborer in Russia, so only lives with his family from November to January before returning to work as construction laborer. Narine stays at home with her 2 young girls: Anna, age 7 and Gayane, age 5. Vahe and his mother are pressuring Narine to get pregnant again, this time with a boy. Narine has a tough relationship with her mother-in-law, Melana. Vahe is Melana's only son, so she focuses a lot of energy on his when he is home from Russia.Vahe bought MODEL of phones back from Russia so that he could keep in touch with his family via Odnoklassniki. His daughter likes to play Farm building games with her Daddy.When Vahe is in Russia, Narine likes to escape from her mother-in-law's wrath by going on Odnoklassniki to chat with her school and university classmates. They occasionally post photos of themselves, especially when they're dressed up for an occasion. They also share photos of their children.When Vahe is in Vanadzor, however, he does not like Narine spending time on her phone talking to people. MORE?
Karen is a typical capitol city user – has a personal computer at work and wants a smartphone.Karen is a 24-year-old man who recently returned from the army. His works at a XXX, thanks to his parents’ connections, and spends a lot of his day on the computer, mostly on Odnoklassniki and Facebook. Although he also downloads music and watches videos too. Beyond playing games with his friends, Karen also likes looking photographs of girls that are friends of his friends. If he sees a cute girl, he’ll add her a friend on Facebook, hoping to be able to use Facebook chat to talk to her. He’ll tell her “Oh, I saw you at a party” even if it isn’t true.Karen really wants a smartphone. He thinks that a smartphone will help him look cooler and richer and that this will help him pick up girls. He is jealous of his friends that have smartphones and are able to access Facebook and Odnoklassniki while on the go.
. She has her own blog where she criticizes the government. Thankfully her manager does not mind that she does this for much of the work day. She also is civically engaged. For example, she recently walked to work and saw a manhole without a cover, took a photo of it with her phone, posted it to the municipality Facebook page and was pleasantly surprised when the manhole was fixed within a day. The Municipality even posted a photo of the repair on Facebook.Anush, like most unmarried Armenian women, lives at home with her parents. While she is older than the average single Armenian women, she has been so focused on her work and her political activism that she does not care. While she would like to have her own apartment, living with her parents allows her to spend her salary on other things like high speed broadband Internet at a home, a smartphone, and nights out at cafes with other political active young people.
So we’re seen that demographics matter a lot in this region… which leads me to the primary question of today’s talk… Beyond the role of English and civic engagement as an outcome, mobile only Internet use is an important element of my research agenda, so understanding mobile Internet is important – especially within a social inequality framework.This study looks at Internet activities – using email, social networking sites, blogs, etc. and seeks to determine the influence that these demographic characteristics (including English) on activities, but adding the layer of the means of Internet access.To think about this more broadly… we know that some Internet activities differ by demographics and/or skills. For example, people with more education tend to read online news. We also know that certain activities – watching a movie, for example or writing are certainly more pleasant on a personal computer than a mobile phone, right?

Katy Pearce #ttw12 Presentation Transcript

Is your Web everyones Web?Theorizing the web through the lens of the device divide Dr. Katy Pearce, Georgetown University @katypearce With Janine Slaker and Nida Ahmad
DEVICE DIVIDE 2
Devices• First, a poll• Device impacts our activities (Chigona, Beukes, Vally, & Tanner,2009; Donner & Bezuidenhoudt, 2012; Donner & Gitau, 2009; Donner et al.,2011; Kreutzer, 2009; Pearce et al., 2012; Pearce & Rice, 2012)• But the device you use is not random• What about those for whom there is no devicechoice? 3
Demographics and Devices• Access to the Internet (and type of access) and Internet activities are demographically determined.• But what matters for Internet activity choices – demographics or access type or both?• Outline1. Demographic differences in device type2. Activities by device type3. Personas4. Combined interaction of demographics and device4
Media Landscape Project• USAID-funded• “Aims to enhance and improve access to pluralistic and unbiased information in Armenia through the use of new information technologies, as well as to increase alternative sources of news, build civic demand for alternative content, and enhance public advocacy on media freedom.”• January-February 2011• N = 1420, nationally representative 5
6
DEVICES 7
Devices• Personal computer – Dial-up (17% of users) – DSL (28% of users) – 3G cellular flash card (40% of users) – Tethered mobile phone (30% of users)• Mobile phone (16% of users) 8
Total CapitalRegional city Rural 9
ARE THERE DEMOGRAPHICDIFFERENCES IN DEVICE USERS? 10
Demographics 3.11• Economic wellbeing (1-5) 2.31 2.69 1.97 Non-Users Mobile-Only PC-Only Both• Education (1-7) 4.91 3.61 3.82 3.61 Non-Users Mobile-Only PC-Only Both 11
• English (1-4) 3.38 3.45 2.8 2.36 Non-Users Mobile-Only PC-Only Both• Age (16-99) 50.07 36.34 26.21 26.65 Non-Users Mobile-Only PC-Only Both• Urbanness (1-3) 2.12 1.94 1.6 1.38 Non-Users Mobile-Only PC-Only Both 12
WHAT DETERMINES DEVICECHOICE? 13
Device Choice• Mobile-only • Age • Urbanness (slightly) – Digital inequality implications• PC-only • English • Urbanness • Education • Gender • Economic wellbeing • Age• Both • Urbanness • Economic wellbeing • Education • English • Age 14
DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES BY DEVICE 15
Activities X Device – Armenia 201185 80 55 53 47 43 40 39 36 34 32 32 30 29 30 26 27 23 21 22 19 17 16 15 8 9 9 5 5 6 SNS Search Online Video IM Email Games Music Work Blog engines news 16 Mobile % PC % Both %
PERSONAS 17
Village user Arsen HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION AGE EMPLOYMENT 34 None Parents Wife EDUCATION INTERNET ACCESS 2 small children Secondary school Mobile only Sister-in-law (brother is labor migrant) INCOME ONLINE SINCE Nephews Irregular 2010 INTERNET ACTIVITIES Social networking sites Television content Soft porn 18
Regional city users Vahe and Narine HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION AGE EMPLOYMENT 33 & 28 Vahe - labor Vahe’s mother migrant; Narine - 2 small children EDUCATION housewife Secondary school & university INTERNET ACCESS Mobile only INCOME Food & clothes ONLINE SINCE comfortable 2009 INTERNET ACTIVITIES Maintaining contact Social networking sites Games 19
Capitol city user Karen HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION AGE EMPLOYMENT 24 Assistant Parents accountant EDUCATION University INTERNET ACCESS PC only INCOME Food & clothes ONLINE SINCE comfortable 2010 INTERNET ACTIVITIES Social networking sites Dating Entertainment – videos/music 20
Capitol city user Anush HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION AGE Program manager 28 Parents INTERNET ACCESS EDUCATION PC and mobile Postgrad ONLINE SINCE INCOME 2005 Food, clothes, appli ance comfortable EMPLOYMENT INTERNET ACTIVITIES Civic engagement News Blogging Social networking sites 21
THE ACTIVITY GAP:DEMOGRAPHICS AND DEVICES 22
Social networking sites Videos Games Device Age X PC Education X mobile English Device Age English Urbanness PC-only Age Urbanness X PC Search engines Instant messaging Downloading music English English Device Urbanness X PC Age Age X PC Age X PC English Education x mobile English X PC Urbanness Education X both PC-only PC-only Online news Email Work Device English X both Device Education X PC English PC-only English Education X PC English PC-only Education X PC Age X PC 23
Implications• Although mobile Internet is available to a wider demographic population of Armenians, the Internet activity device gap remains. – Access is not enough. • Highway versus bike lane.• Although… – Assumptions of what Internet activities should be and what “The Web” is. – Upskilling possible (Pearce, 2011). 24
Contributions• Few venues have large mobile-only Internet population. – What we can learn from such a venue has implications for digital inequality everywhere. • Access is not enough.• Demographic and device-driven differences in online activities matter for any context. 25
THANK YOU 26

Katy Pearce #ttw12

by Katy Pearce

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Katy Pearce #ttw12 Presentation Transcript