Eynon R and Geniets A (2012) Ex-Internet Use of young people in Britain. European Conference on Educational Research, September 2012, Cadiz, Spain.

1. Ex-Internet use amongst young people in
Britain
Dr Rebecca Eynon & Dr Anne Geniets
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk

2. Internet (non) use in Britain
• Relatively well connected country
– Around 70% of households have Internet access
– Free Internet access available in libraries
– All young people use the Internet at
school/college
• Yet 10% of young people (17-23) consider
themselves to be ex Internet users

3. Aims of study
1. Why this is the case?
•
Due to digital exclusion or choice?
1. What are the implications?

4. Factors in understanding (non) use
• Psychological (attitudes, motivations and agency
towards the Internet, learning & everyday life)
• Cognitive (operational skills, critical skills, literacy
and awareness of opportunity)
• Physical (quality of Internet access, access & use
of other technologies)
• Socio-cultural (family, friends, school, work,
community)
• Material (occupation, income, education)

5. Survey analysis
• Typology of ex-use
– 5 groups
– Proximity to the Internet
– Gradual inclusion of all five factors (psychological,
cognitive, physical, socio-cultural, material)
• Informed sampling strategy of interview study

6. Understanding ex-use
• The majority of young people in our study
who identified themselves as ex-Internet
users did technically “use” the Internet
• This use was typically infrequent, narrow in
range, and / or via other people
• Reflected a change in access, amount or
nature of use
• Did not see themselves as an Internet user

7. Psychological
• Recognition of the Internet as a normal part of
everyday life
• A very tool based and functional attitude
towards going online, with no evidence of a
more experimental approach

8. Cognitive
• Some problems with core literacy skills
• Not everyone used email or knew how to use
it properly
• Mixed levels of information seeking skills
• A lack of skills were compounded by others
assumptions that they should know how to
use the Internet
Page 8

9. Inaccurate assumptions
• At the Jobcentre everyone was like send a CV
via email and I was like (...) how do I do that?
And I didn’t want to ask anyone. I was like I
should know this, I should know this by now.
(Nick)

10. Physical
• Some had a smartphone, but it was not
necessarily connected
• Using the Internet on a mobile device tended
to be seen differently to using the Internet on
a computer
01/13/14

11. Looking the part
• It just seems normal for a 17 year old to be
walking around either texting or on Facebook,
it just looks normal (…) other people will not
know if I am doing it or not, if I am on my
phone I could be texting or doing anything.
(Jack)

12. Socio-cultural
• School was often the first place and
sometimes the only place they had used the
Internet
• Proxy use was apparent, sometimes central
• Not many instances where these contexts
tended to extend or develop their uses of the
Internet in any meaningful way

13. Limited networks of support
• In a sense I felt left out (…)but it was like
there was nothing I could really do about it.
Like I mentioned it to my mum about the
Internet, about getting a computer, but she
was like, “no it is too expensive”(…) well there
was nothing I could do – I can’t force her to
get it. I didn’t know how to use it anyway (…)
but it could have been [useful] (…) (Karen)

14. Material
• Many did not have significant resource with
respect to education, occupation and income,
and this influenced their (non) Internet use
• A group where there was a heightened need
to use the Internet in order to search for jobs
and housing, put their own perspectives and
views across etc
01/13/14

15. The five factors & perceived need
• It [the Internet] is not important to me
because I’ve gotten by without using, it. (…) I
do understand that in this time, now, Internet
is really, really important, and that you know,
so much can be done on the Internet. It’s true,
but there is still a lot that you can do without
the Internet. (George)

16. Key issues
• A story primarily of exclusion rather than choice
• Problems of the UK ‘digital by default’ strategy
• Digital native discourse has particularly negative
implications for this group
• Targeted intervention is important
• Not just about removal of barriers (access, cost etc),
but about providing ways to support the freedom to
use the Internet
• Schools are key in this process (skills, access,
experience)