Global youth networks and the digital divide

GLOBAL YOUTH NETWORKS
AND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Has ICT become universally accessible, and has it
contributed to increased communication between youth
in the global North and South?
SEPT/2015
Report

CONTENT

ABSTRACT
1. INTRODUCTION
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. From the knowledge gap to the digital divide
2.2. Norris’ three aspects of the digital divide
2.3. Mobilization/ normalization theses
2.4. Diffusion theory and the Matthew effect
2.5. Bridging the gaps –how to counter the Matthew effect?
3. RESEARCH DESIGN
3.1. Quantitative analysis
3.2. Data collection
3.3. Validity and reliability
3.4. Limitations
3.5. Data analysis
4. FINDINGS
5. DISCUSSION, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION
5.1. Discussion
5.2. Conclusion
APPENDIX
LITERATURE

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ABSTRACT
In the context of global development and cooperation, this report is a contribution to the discussion of
global access to digital technology and to what extent information barriers still exist between the global
North and South.
In recent years, digital and social media have become increasingly accessible, but has this led to more
frequent communication across geographical, cultural, socio-economic and linguistic barriers?
British scholar Pippa Norris’ theory of the “digital divide” has been central in the aim to uncover different
levels of information gaps that exist in society today and, in particular, the perceived digital gap between
the industrialized global North and the developing South.
Using Norris’ interpretation of the digital divide, relevant theories such as the knowledge gap, the
mobilization and normalization theses, the diffusion theory and the Matthew effect have been briefly
examined.
To test the degree to which these divides do exist, a survey collecting data by means of a quantitative study
in Norway, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania was carried out, and the findings from the different countries
were compared.
Vennskap Nord/Sør (Friendship North/South) has collected and compared 629 valid responses from high
school students in 33 different schools with existing school exchange partnerships in Norway and in East
Africa, illustrating their motivation and use of information and communications technology, in this report
referred to as ICT, to stay connected.
Several obstacles to bridging the digital divide were identified, and the findings suggest that both
technological and motivational factors are relevant when establishing and maintaining digital networks
between students in the global North and South.
This report presents the findings from a survey originally conducted as part of a project paper, written for
an Executive Master of Management programme in Digital Communications Management at BI Norwegian
Business School.
Heidi Thon
September 15th, 2015
Vennskap Nord/Sør
Friendship North/South

1. INTRODUCTION
This report aims to sketch a brief digital portrait of the
ICT use among high school students in the three African
countries Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and their inter-
action with students at partner high schools in Norway.
The goal of the exchange programme, which is admi-
nistered by Vennskap Nord/Sør (VNS) aims to teach
students about global issues and social responsibility,
as well as creating friendship ties across borders. The
programme is called “Elimu”, which means education
in Swahili, and it facilitates exchanges between high
schools in Norway and Latin America, Africa and the
Middle East. It is financed by the Norwegian Agency for
Development Cooperation (NORAD). Every year, between
6 and 10 students from the individual Norwegian schools
travel to their exchange schools in the South, and later in
the school year or the following year, an equal number of
students from the South visit their Norwegian schools.
It is not possible for a whole class to travel, but those who
do not travel will still be involved in the exchange pro-
gramme when the students from the exchange school
visit.
Based on the following reviewed literature, this report
aims to identify some of the underlying factors in terms
of technology and motivation when digital networks be-
tween partner exchange schools in Norway and in Africa
are established and maintained. The following two hypot-
heses will examine the motivation and degree of contact
between schools in Norway and in the South.
Hypothesis 1: Students who have personally travelled on
a school exchange are more likely to stay in touch with
students from their exchange school than those who have
not travelled.
Hypothesis 2: NorwegianandAfricanstudentsgivedifferent
reasons for not staying in touch with students from their
exchange school.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1.
FROM THE KNOWLEDGE GAP TO THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
The early 1970’s saw the emergence of the term “know-
ledge gap” and its founders have captured the essence
of the theory in the following phrase:
“as the infusion of mass media information into a social
system increases, segments of the population with higher
socio-economic status tend to acquire this information at
a faster rate than the lower status segments, so that the
gap in knowledge between these segments tends to increa-
se rather than decrease” (Tichenor et al., 1970: 159-160).
The original knowledge gap theory is considered valid
even today, especially in the context of socio-economic
status clusters and the way that they continue to create
differential knowledge gains.
The concern of the increasing knowledge gap within the
digital sphere emerged in the mid-1990s and focused
on the disparities between those who had access to the
Internet and those who did not. Described as the digital
divide, this gap initially conceptualized the limited access
to the technical infrastructure of the Internet, rather than
considering the social infrastructure. (Kassam, Iding and
Hogenbirk, 2013)
Today, the question of access seems irrelevant to the
industrialized world, as the definition has moved towards
a variety of socio-demographic characteristics, and for
which purposes the Internet is used. However, the initial
definition is still very relevant in a global North/South
perspective, as access in developing countries is restric-
ted for a large part of the population by reasons such as
lack of infrastructure, freedom of speech, cost, education,
illiteracy etc.
2.2.
NORRIS’ THREE ASPECTS OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
British scholar Pippa Norris voiced one of the first
thorough discussions of the digital divide. Her research
on global political issues is recognized worldwide and
her book from 2001, “Digital Divide –Civic Engagement,
Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide” explains
the concept of the digital divide as a multidimensional
phenomenon, which encompasses three distinct aspects:
1. The global divide, which refers to the divergence of
Internet access between industrialized and
developing societies.
2. The social divide, which concerns the gap between
information rich and poor in each nation.
3. The democratic divide, which signifies the difference
between those within the online community, who do,
and do not, use the panoply of digital resources to
engage, mobilize, and participate in public life.
(Norris, 2001:4)
Cass Sunstein recognizes the existing inequality in
access to digital technology, what Norris refers to as the
global divide, but he believes that the gap is likely to close
over time. He argues that the cost of technology and the
Internet in particular, is diminishing and will become
increasingly available to everyone, regardless of income
or wealth. (Sunstein 2007:17)
Van Deusen and Van Dijk (2014) agree with Sunstein, and
suggest that the term digital divide should be redefined.
They argue that the digital divide might finally have closed
and that it is now more relevant to discuss the shifts in
usage.
Kassam, Iding and Hogenbirk are far from convinced that
the digital divide will close by itself and argue that the
concerns of the global digital divide between industria-
lized and developing countries must take into account
that access without proper training can do more harm
than good. They stress the importance of acknowledging
the need for education and democracy building when
introducing ICT to populations with low education levels.
(Kassam, Iding, Hogenbirk, 2013)

2.3.
MOBILIZATION/ NORMALIZATION THESES
A central theme in the research on political and civic
engagement relates to Norris’ democratic divide and
to whether or not the increasing access and use contri-
butes to strengthening and expanding participation. This
question is often referred to as either mobilization, where
new groups participate in new ways, or normalization
where those who are already involved continue to use
the new media, thereby increasing their influence while
others remain passive. (Hirzalla et al., 2010)
Norris also refers to the normalization thesis as the
social stratification thesis. She claims that, compared
to traditional media channels, the Internet will primarily
serve to reinforce the activism of the activists, facilita-
ting participation for those who are already interested in
politics by reducing some of the costs of communicating,
mobilizing, and organizing. She is of the same opinion as
Hirzalla et al., regarding differences in social and politi-
cal standing that interests are likely to be copied from the
offline world into the digital world, further emphasizing
the democratic divide. (Norris, 2001)
Norris is particularly concerned with the importance of
increasing and enhancing civic engagement for citizens
andcivilsocietygroupsworldwide. Accordingtoher,there
is a danger that the underclass of “info-poor” will become
even further marginalized in society, as basic ICT skills
become essential for economic success and personal
advancement, entry to good career and educational
opportunities, access to social networks, as well as
opportunities for civic engagement. (ibid.)
Prior (2007) shares Norris’ point of view in terms of what
she refers to as the social divide when he argues that the
increase in media choice is contributing to larger infor-
mation gaps between news-seekers and news-avoiders.
He claims that the abundance of options makes it easy
to completely avoid current affairs and news broadcasts.
Prior suggests that the increasing gaps are related to
lack of motivation rather than ability. According to him,
the current media landscape with its increase in global
and current topics as well as entertainment, allows
politically interested people to seek and consume more
information, while those who are not interested, find it
easier to escape the news flow altogether. (ibid.)
A recent Dutch survey by Van Deursen and Van Dijk (2014)
also supports this view. Their findings conclude that as
the internet matures, the cultural, social and economic
relationships in the online world will mirror the relation-
ships and inequalities in the offline world.
While the normalization thesis claims that our online and
offline behavior will be more or less identical, supporters
of the mobilization thesis believe that the internet will
provide the general public with the means to hold politi-
cians and other people in positions of power accountable
for their actions and promises, as they become more
transparent (Dahlberg, Siapera, 2007).
Likewise, Benkler (2006) is among those who take a
more optimistic approach, believing that the digital media
will encourage new voices to rise, as communication
becomes affordable and accessible, with the potential
to spread quickly to a large number of people through
information cascades. According to him, digital networks
allow the individual to reach a large audience through
a «little-world» effect, which includes a «long tail» of
various media platforms.
So where exactly does the problem lie? Is the major
obstacle the actual global divide between those who have
access and those who do not, should our concern rather
be with the way in which people chose to use the techno-
logy available to them, or is the root of the issue to be
found elsewhere?
2.4.
DIFFUSION THEORY AND THE MATTHEW EFFECT
According to Karlsen (2010), the digital divide is closely
related to age, education and income. Youth and those
who are both well educated and well paid are the ones
who use the Internet most often. He uses the diffusion
theory to explain this phenomenon where new techno-
logy is first explored by the wealthy and highly educated.
As the technology becomes more common, the divides
disappear.
Norris (2001) also draws upon the diffusion theory
developed by Katz and Rogers in 1962 to explain how
the adoption of many successful innovations often gains
momentum and diffuses through the population follow-
ing an S- (Sigmoid) shaped pattern. Some people, as part
of a social system, try something new or do something
differently. They are the first of five established adopter
categories, the so-called innovators. Following the inno-
vators are the early adopters, then the early majority and
the late majority. The final category is the conservative
and traditional laggards. In this way, new ideas or be-
havior spread to larger layers of society over time.
According to Norris, the more critical interpreters of the
diffusion theory are of the opinion that compared with
laggards, early adopters of innovations usually belong
to groups with higher socio-economic status. Their level
of education, literacy, and social status provide access
to the financial and information resources required to
adapt flexibly to innovative technologies. This again often
reinforces economic advantages, so that the rich get
richer, and the poorer fall farther behind. In a global per-
spective, Norris claims that poorer societies, plagued by
burdens of debt, disease, and ignorance, keep lagging
behind and may ultimately fail to catch up in the digital
race. (Norris, 2001).
Enjolras et al. agree with Norris concerning the global
distribution of wealth. In addition, they emphasize the fact
that the algorithms and aggregation effects of search
engines function in a way that they prioritize content
based on where and by whom it originates, thereby con-
tributing to the “rich get richer” effect, also called the
Matthew effect, where elites persist. (Enjolras et al. 2013)
In essence, one can argue that the Matthew effect con-
tributes to building a new digital hierarchy, which partly

contributes to reproducing the power and influence of the
existing elites, based on popularity in digital networks.
On the other hand, the “small-world” effect contributes
to democratization where everyone may be an influen-
cer, as information is cascading through the net.
(Enjolras et al., 2013)
2.5.
BRIDGING THE GAPS –HOW TO COUNTER
THE MATTHEW EFFECT?
The majority of discussions on how to close the global
gap between the industrialized North and the developing
South seem to, in one way or another, touch upon one
central theme: education.
According to Kassam (2013), giving access to technology
without teaching critical meta-cognitive thinking and
literacy has proven to be inadequate. Freedom of speech
as a prerequisite to foster global responsibility, activism,
pluralism and inclusion for all becomes meaningless
without quality of education.
Norris focuses on the potential that connectivity through
digital networks can function as an umbilical cord to
broaden and enhance access to information and commu-
nications for remote rural areas and poorer neighbor-
hoods. She believes that the process of democratization
under transitional regimes must go hand-in-hand with
improved access and quality of education, in order to
ameliorate the endemic problems of poverty in the
developing world. (Norris, 2001)
Enjolras et al. point to the fact that while traditional
media reduces the user to a passive recipient, social
media, through media convergence, makes it possible for
anyone to actively participate, commercially, politically
and democratically into the digital flow. (Enjolras et al.
2013) This would suggest that, given a proper education,
it is an opportunity for the youth in emerging democra-
cies to take advantage of the possibilities that the Inter-
net provides to influence society in an effort to counter
the Matthew effect.
In addition to lack of quality education in parts of the
global South, another main obstacle is related to Norris’
global divide and lack of access to the actual infrastru-
cture. A third hindrance in the developing world is the
cost of the use of technology which, compared to the av-
erage income, is many times higher in most developing
countries than in industrialized societies.
(UNESCO, 2014).
There are optimists who envisage that, as technology
becomes increasingly affordable, the Internet will play a
relevant role in transforming poverty in developing socie-
ties. Others are more sceptic and believe that technology
alone will make little difference one way or another. The
pessimists, on the other hand, emphasize that digital
technologies will further exacerbate the existing North-
South divide. (Norris, 2001)
It would seem therefore that Kassam, Iding and Hogen-
birk’s (2013) argument that technology and infrastructure
must go hand-in-hand with education is valid in trying to
reduce the digital divide and counter the Matthew effect.
In addition, a general conclusion to the literature review
can be that education and human development helps to
drive both levels of democratization as well as the diffu-
sion of digital technologies.
3. RESEARCH DESIGN
3.1.
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Forthepurposeofthisreport,aquantitativeapproachwith
a descriptive design was applied, which records a specific
behaviour through responses to a questionnaire.
The questionnaire contained 14 questions, concluded by
an open optional comment field. The main topics were
the following:
• Country of residence and whether or not the student
had personally travelled on a school exchange
between Norway and East Africa?
• Which digital channels are most frequently used by
youth in Norway and in East Africa?
• How often is social media used among youth in
Norway and in East Africa?
• How accessible is digital media in Norway and in
East Africa?
• For which topics are digital media used among youth
in Norway and East Africa?
• Which perceived barriers prevent regular contact
between students in Norway and in East-Africa?
• How often do students with friendship linking stay in
touch with each other?
• What are the motivations or reasons for staying or not
staying in touch?
3.2.
DATA COLLECTION
The questionnaire was developed with the aim to reveal
to which extent high schools in Norway and East Africa,
which currently have existing exchange programmes,
make use of digital and social media to stay in touch
between and after the actual exchanges.
Of particular interest was to determine whether students
who travelled on an exchange showed a stronger interest
in continuing the relationships online than those who did
not travel. If there was no contact, we wanted to explore
the reasons why and to uncover whether different re-
asons for not staying in touch were given in the different
countries.
The data collection took place in schools in Norway,
Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania from December 2014 to
February 2015 by means of identical questionnaires.
In total 33 schools responded: 18 in Norway and 15 in
East Africa. 629 valid responses were registered and
entered into SPSS for analysis. The Norwegian students
responded directly online through the Wufoo online sur-
vey programme, while the African students used paper.
Their data was then entered into the Wufoo online survey
07

programme. To ensure anonymity, the names of the
different schools have not been used as a variable. The
responses between the corresponding friendship schools
have not been matched as pairs, but compared on a
general level with all other participating schools. The
students who were asked to respond to the questionnaire
have an existing North/South school collaboration. In
order to avoid language problems in interpreting the
questions, the questionnaire was produced in three lang-
uages: Norwegian, Swahili and English.
3.3.
VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
There is a good mix of male and female students: 44,8%
male and 55,2% female. There is a larger number of Nor-
wegian responses than Ugandan, Kenyan and Tanzanian
individually but, in total, there are more East African than
Norwegian responses. (Table 1)
In Norway, higher education is available to all and the
sample is a valid representation of the population. In East
Africaitisworthnotingthat,althoughthedifferentschools
participating in the survey are representative of a larger
population of high school students, higher education
is not available to all segments of the general population.
Among youth in the age group 14-20 who are not in
school, the access to and use of digital media is expected
to be much lower than for those attending secondary
education. (UNESCO 2014; Elletson, MacKinnon, 2014)
3.4.
LIMITATIONS
The most significant limitation of the questionnaire,
which could have consequences for hypothesis 1, was
that we did not ask students who did not travel whether
or not they had made personal face-to-face contact with
the students visiting their school. It would have improved
the quality of the findings if it could be determined which
of the students, despite not having personally travelled,
had created ties through physical contact rather than
just establishing contact via Facebook or other digital
media.
3.5.
DATA ANALYSIS
Tables 2, 3 and 4 relate to type of digital media most
frequently used in each country, where the Internet is
accessed from and what the Internet is most commonly
used for. Findings from these questions show that
mobiles and tablets are frequently used in all countries.
In Africa, Internet cafés are popular places to access
the Internet while, in Norway, school is the second most
important point of access. School access is however
insignificant in Tanzania, very limited in Kenya and
relatively restricted in Uganda. 26% of Tanzanian youth
have no access to the Internet at all, while the numbers
in Kenya and Uganda are both 11%.
(Table 5)
Norway Tanzania Uganda Kenya Total Percent
Male 75 47 99 61 282 44,8
Female 136 48 72 91 347 55,2
Total 211 95 171 152 629 100,0
Country of residence
Gender
TABLE 1: Gender: Country of residence: Crosstabulation
How do you access
the internet
(multiple choice)? Norway Tanzania Uganda Kenya Total
At home 208 32 91 108 439
At school 204 1 57 21 283
Internet cafe 46 19 61 42 168
Mobile/tablet 197 43 113 106 459
No access 0 27 18 13 58
TABLE 2: How do you access the internet (you can choose more than one answer)?
Country of residence: Crosstabulation
09

Which types of media
do you use
Internet 204 35 80 76 395
Facebook 203 54 141 108 506
Twitter 71 14 37 24 146
Instagram 168 27 20 13 228
Snapchat 186 3 2 5 196
Blog 47 6 0 3 56
Whatsapp 34 46 62 61 203
Skype 125 9 14 8 156
Chat 77 19 34 49 179
E-mail 175 27 50 24 276
TABLE 3: Which types of media do you use (you can choose more than one answer)?
What do you use
these media for
Staying in touch with friends 203 56 123 99 481
Read news 183 38 92 61 374
Research for school 179 35 88 75 377
Advocacy/Political involv. 35 4 5 12 56
Organize events 108 3 14 8 133
Participate in debates 24 7 12 7 50
Religious topics 10 16 46 44 116
TABLE 4: What do you use these media for (you can choose more than one answer)?
Country
of residence Never Monthly Weekly Several Once a day Several Total
times times
per week per day
Norway 1 1 1 0 1 207 211
Tanzania 25 5 8 32 4 21 95
Uganda 20 18 25 49 23 36 171
Kenya 17 44 16 41 7 27 152
Total 63 68 50 122 35 291 629
How often do you have access to the internet?
TABLE 5: Country of residence: How often do you have access to the internet?
Crosstabulation

4. FINDINGS
During our research we aimed to find out more about
the motivation for establishing and maintaining digital
networks across geographical and cultural borders;
what makes some more likely to stay in touch with and
strengthen relatively weak ties than others?
The motivational focus for establishing and maintai-
ning global digital networks between partner exchange
schools in Norway and in Africa, relates to our hypothesis 1:
Students who have personally travelled on a school exchange
are more likely to stay in touch with students from their
exchange school than those who have not travelled.
In the first hypothesis, we hoped to find support for the
assumption that having personally travelled is a strong
motivational factor for staying in touch. The personal
experience of a foreign culture and country, combined
with face-to-face communication, so-called rich commu-
nication with fellow students in the exchange country, is
likely to grow the otherwise weak ties between students
in exchange schools who literally live worlds apart.
It is important to note that the number of students who
made personal contact is significantly higher than the
number of students who actually travelled, as the persons
travelling will meet with several fellow students while
visiting their exchange school. Each exchange trip normally
lasts for two weeks, and the students stay with a host
family from their friendship school during their stay,
giving both travelling and receiving students ample time
to establish bonds.
The number of students having personally participated
in an exchange is listed in table 6. 33% of the Norwegian
respondents have travelled, while in Tanzania 15,1%,
in Uganda 27,2% and in Kenya 24,2% of students have
travelled on an exchange.
According to Enjolras et al. (2013), Facebook is an
important tool for maintaining ties, especially weak ones,
but it is not essential for establishing new ones. Their
findings suggest that young people in particular, seldom
establish new ties through Facebook, and to a lesser
extent than older generations. They also conclude that
Facebook is very important for maintaining contact with
friends and family who live in a different place.
Table 7 gives an overview of the number of students who
stay in contact with friends from their exchange school,
according to nationality and whether or not they have
travelled. It shows that 83% of students who travelled
stay in touch, while only 50% of those who have not
travelled keep contact. This initial finding supports the
significanceofpersonalexperiencepositedinhypothesis1.
Table 8 gives a more detailed list of frequency of contact.
The findings show that nearly half of Norwegian students
and three quarters of Tanzanian students who have not
travelled never stay in touch. The numbers are much
lower in Uganda (21%) and Kenya (41%). Initially, this
would suggest that my hypothesis 1 can be confirmed.
However, the table does not indicate the reasons why
there is no contact.
When the findings in table 8 is combined with table 12,
regarding use of social media, they become more inte-
resting. 30% of Tanzanians never use social media. The
corresponding number for Norwegian students is 1,4%.
In Uganda and Kenya, the number of students who do
not use social media is 11% and 8%. The findings would
suggest that part of the challenge of keeping in touch is
related to Norris’ global divide, i.e. limited or no access
to the Internet. In Tanzania especially, the number of
students with no access is very high and a definite obsta-
cle to communicating through social media.
Another point that the survey revealed, is that limited/
restricted access is also a result of school policy regar-
ding use of mobile telephones in school. A large number
of African students attend boarding school, which means
that they are restricted from using social media for longer
periods of time while on school premises. We will further
comment on this issue when we explore the findings from
the open comment field in the survey. Table 8 further
shows that, apart from Tanzanian students, there is a
relatively high frequency of contact between students,
with a larger number of students keeping monthly
contact, while there is also a relatively high number of
students who communicate several times per day.
Although limited or no access to technology among
some students in the South prevents communication, the
findings suggest that hypothesis 1 can be supported.
Further, students were asked whether or not they have
established a Facebook group, and again, this was tested
against country of residence and whether or not the
student had personally travelled. (Table 9)
A very large number of students in all countries do not
know whether a Facebook group exists and, as might
be expected, the majority of these students have not
travelled. A suggestion to teachers responsible for the
exchange might be to encourage and inform the stu-
dents about the possibility of establishing or joining a Fa-
cebook group, particularly in connection with an actual
exchange, in order to encourage more contact between
exchanges. The findings indicate that some schools have
established separate groups while others have not. Seen
in the context of table 10, the perceived usefulness of so-
cial media for staying in touch also differs according to a
similar pattern.
As our hypothesis 1 suggests, the perceived usefulness
of social media for staying in touch is higher among stu-
dents who have travelled than for those who have not.
98% of travellers and 86% of those who have not travel-
led find social media to be a useful tool for staying in tou-
ch. The table indicates that students who have travelled
are more positive when assessing the usefulness of so-
cial media for staying in touch with students from their
exchange school than those who have not travelled. The
percentage of positive responses among those who have
not travelled is, however, surprisingly high, when taking
into account the findings of table 7

Country
of residence Yes No Total Yes No Total
number number number % % %

Norway 49 162 211 23,2 76,8 33,5
Tanzania 8 87 95 8,4 91,6 15,1
Uganda 24 147 171 14,0 86,0 27,2
Kenya 26 126 152 17,1 82,9 24,2
Total 107 522 629 17 83 100

Have you personally travelled in the ELIMU School Exchange Programme?
TABLE 6: Have you personally travelled in the ELIMU School Exchange Program?
Have you personally travelled in the ELIMU School
Exchange Program?
Do you stay in contact with friends from your
exchange school? Norway Tanzania Uganda Kenya Total
Travelled: 1. Stay in touch: Yes 43 7 23 16 89
No 6 1 1 10 18
Total 49 8 24 26 107
Not travelled: 1. Stay in touch Yes 58 17 112 73 260
No 104 70 35 53 262
Total 162 87 147 126 522
Total 1. Stay in touch Yes 101 24 135 89 349
No 110 71 36 63 280
Total 211 95 171 152 629
TABLE 7: Have you personally travelled in the ELIMU School Exchange Program? Country of residence: (How often)
do you use social/ digital media to stay in touch with friends from your exchange school? Crosstabulation
13

TABLE 8: Have you personally travelled in the ELIMU School Exchange Program? Country of residence:
How often do you use social/ digital media to stay in touch with friends from your exchange school? Crosstabulation
How often do you use social/ digital media to stay
in touch with friends from your exchange school? Norway Tanzania Uganda Kenya Total
Yes 6 1 1 10 18
No 104 70 35 53 262
Total 110 71 36 63 280

Yes 28 3 9 7 47
No 19 2 17 27 65
Total 47 5 26 34 112

Yes 5 2 3 2 12
No 3 5 23 12 43
Total 8 7 26 14 55

Yes 3 2 5 3 13
No 5 5 36 17 63
Total 8 7 41 20 76

Yes 2 0 1 0 3
No 2 1 14 3 20
Total 4 1 15 3 23

Yes 5 0 5 4 14
No 29 4 22 14 69
Total 34 4 27 18 83

Yes 49 8 24 26 107
No 162 87 147 126 522
Total 211 95 171 152 629
4. Have you personally
travelled in the ELIMU School
Exchange Program?
Never
Exchange Program?
Monthly
Exchange Program?
Weekly
Exchange Program?
Several
times
per week
Exchange Program?
Once a
day
Exchange Program?
Several
times
per day
Exchange Program?
Total
Finally, the optional open response section was briefly
analyzed, categorizing responses into corresponding
groups, and then quantified. The open comments shed
further light on the issues of motivation, access to techno-
logy and the cost of use, as well as voicing concerns from
the South regarding improper use of the Internet and the
need for training in practical use of the technology.
More than half of the Norwegian students who provided
open comments stated that they had made limited or no
contact with students from their exchange school. Quite
a few also claimed no knowledge of the programme at
all. Some students commented that limited access or no
access to computers or the Internet in their exchange
school made digital contact difficult or impossible. In
Uganda, limited or no access to the Internet or restricted
useofmobiletelephonesinschoolwasvoicedasconcerns,
as well as the cost of internet access. In addition, many
young Ugandans are concerned about pornography and
improper use of the Internet. Tanzanians voiced similar
concerns, where limited or no access to computers or
the Internet being by far the most commented on and
in addition, they commented on the need for computer
training in school.
In Kenya, students are concerned with the restricted use
of mobile phones and social media in school. They also
see the need for better access to and more computer
training in school.

Country of residence: Yes No I don’t know Total
Yes 20 24 5 49
No 32 64 66 162
Total 52 88 71 211

Yes 1 3 4 8
No 4 35 48 87
Total 5 38 52 95

Yes 10 10 4 24
No 40 77 30 147
Total 50 87 34 171

Yes 10 14 2 26
No 26 82 18 126
Total 36 96 20 152

Yes 41 51 15 107
No 102 258 162 522
Total 143 309 177 629

Have you established a separate Facebook-group
between your exchange schools?
TABLE 9: Have you personally travelled in the ELIMU School Exchange Program?
Have you established a separate Facebook-group between your exchange schools?
Exchange Program?
Norway
Exchange Program?
Tanzania
Exchange Program?
Uganda
Exchange Program?
Kenya
Exchange Program?
Total
15

To what extent do you find social/ digital media
useful for staying in touch with friends from your
exchange school?
Have you personally travelled in the ELIMU
School Exchange Program? Norway Tanzania Uganda Kenya Total
Not useful Travelled? Yes 1 0 0 1 2
No 32 14 16 7 69
Total 33 14 16 8 71
Somewhat useful Travelled? Yes 4 0 1 4 9
No 17 18 6 12 53
Total 21 18 7 16 62
Quite useful Travelled? Yes 11 1 5 7 24
No 49 16 39 56 160
Total 60 17 44 63 184
Very useful Travelled? Yes 19 2 9 8 38
No 31 16 52 32 131
Total 50 18 61 40 169
Excellent Yes 14 5 9 6 34
No 33 23 34 19 109
Total 47 28 43 25 143
Total Travelled? Yes 49 8 24 26 107
No 162 87 147 126 522
Total 211 95 171 152 629
TABLE 10: Have you personally travelled in the ELIMU School Exchange Program? Country of residence:
To what extent do you find social/ digital media useful for staying in touch with friends from your exchange school?
Crosstabulation
The comments are very interesting in as much as they
give a nuanced picture of the underlying reasons for
limitations in contact between the exchange schools. The
open comments also touch upon the need for education
in use of the technology, which is exactly what Kassam,
Iding and Hogenbirk (2013) deem to be an essential part
of bridging the digital divide.
The premise of hypothesis 1, that having travelled is a
strong motivational factor for further contact, seems
to be supported by the data from the survey. An inte-
resting experiment in this context would be to follow-up
the same students in a few years and see if, and to what
degree, the contact is still kept.
Hypothesis 2, Norwegian and African students give different
reasons for not staying in touch with students from their
exchange school, examines the motives for degree of
contact and any possible differences from a North/ South
point of view.
The questions in our survey also investigate the issue of a
possible divide in terms of motivation for staying in touch,
further explained in table 11.

If you are not staying in touch with friends from
your exchange school, what is the reason (you can
choose more than one answer)? Uganda Kenya Total
Norway Limited/restricted access to internet 7 8 15
Tanzania 3 21 24
Uganda 7 42 49
Kenya 10 50 60
Total 27 121 148
Norway Internet access is too expensive 1 3 4
Tanzania 1 16 17
Uganda 10 47 57
Kenya 12 61 73
Total 24 127 151
Norway Limited free time 10 30 40
Tanzania 4 31 35
Uganda 14 69 83
Kenya 10 47 57
Total 38 177 215
Norway Language barrier 4 5 9
Tanzania 4 4
Uganda 4 10 14
Kenya 3 16 19
Total 11 35 46
Norway Not interested in staying in touch 8 48 56
Tanzania 2 2
Uganda 1 16 17
Kenya 9 9
Total Not interested in staying in touch 9 75 84
Have you personally travelled in the
ELIMU School Exchange Program?
TABLE 11: If you are not staying in touch with friends from your exchange school, what is the reason
(you can choose more than one answer)? Have you personally travelled in the ELIMU School Exchange Program?
17

Again, parameters are related to nationality and whether
or not the student has travelled. Particularly relevant
are the questions of access to the internet and to social
media as shown in tables 5 and 12.
Hypothesis 2 assumes that the motivation for not staying
in touch is different depending on nationality. Table 13
lists the different reasons given by students in the four
countries. As indicated in tables 5 and 12, there are signi-
ficant divides between the North and the South in terms
of access to the Internet; also between Tanzania, Kenya
and Uganda the divide is substantial, with Tanzania still
lagging behind. Again, in tables 11 and 13, this divide is
evident with only 15 out of 211 Norwegian students stating
that limited or restricted access is one of the reasons for
not staying in touch. The limitations stated by Norwegian
students may well refer to restrictions in their partner
school, although this cannot be verified. Of the 278 Afri-
can students, 133 gave the same reason. As this question
allows for multiple choices, it is impossible to estimate a
percentage of a whole.
In terms of cost, tables 11 and 13 show an even larger
divide between Norwegian and African students with
only 4 out of 211 students worrying about the expense
of internet use. Among African students, the number is
significant with 147 out of 278 claiming that cost is an
essential factor for not staying in touch.
When it comes to limited free time, 40 out of 211
Norwegians and 175 of 278 Africans have limited free
time, something which indicates that African students
have somewhat less free time than Norwegian students.
A small but positive surprise is the fact that language
barriers do not seem to be a major concern in any of the
four countries.
The final alternative given for not staying in touch was
lack of interest and, here, the numbers are very inte-
resting. While as many as 56 out of 211 Norwegians state
that they are not interested in staying in touch, only 2
Tanzanians, 17 Ugandans and 9 Kenyans, a total of 28 out
of 278 African students are of the same opinion.
Therefore, the findings show that, from a Norwegian per-
spective, the main reason given for not staying in touch is
a lack of interest. In East Africa, on the other hand, very
few students responded in the same way, showing that it
is not lack of personal motivation which hinders contact,
rather the fact that access to the Internet is both restricted
as well as expensive. The findings lend support to hypo-
thesis 2, regarding motivational factors for not staying in
touch.
Country
of residence Never Monthly Weekly Several Once a day Several Total
times times
per week per day
Norway 3 3 1 6 9 189 211
Tanzania 29 6 9 28 4 19 95
Uganda 19 16 24 42 28 42 171
Kenya 12 32 19 38 12 39 152
Total 63 57 53 114 53 289 629
How often do you use digital/ social media?
TABLE 12: Country of residence: How often do you use digital/ social media? Crosstabulation
TABLE 13: If you are not staying in touch with friends from your exchange school, what is the reason
(you can choose more than one answer)? Country of residence: Crosstabulation
If you are not staying in touch with friends from
your exchange school, what is the reason (you can
choose more than one answer)? Norway Tanzania Uganda Kenya Total
Limited/restricted access to internet 15 24 49 60 148
Internet access is too expensive 4 17 57 73 151
Limited free time 40 35 83 57 215
Language barrier 9 4 14 19 46
Not interested in staying in touch 56 2 17 9 84

The optional open response section, however, suggests
that the findings from table 13 are more nuanced than
theyseem.MorethanaquarteroftheNorwegianstudents
stated that they were not interested in staying in touch.
However, another perspective should be added, as the
comments from the open response section shows that
many Norwegians claim not to know the students from
their exchange school. As many as 40 comments were
relatedtolimitedornocontactorevenalackofknowledge
about the exchange programme.
As previously commented upon, there seems to be a
lack of involvement and communication in some of the
Norwegian partner schools, as a very high number of
students have had limited or no contact with visiting
exchange students from Africa and, indeed, some of them
do not even know of the existence of the programme.
As a conclusion, hypothesis 2 may only be partly suppor-
ted, as the supposed lack of interest among students
in Norway may be related to poor communication and
knowledge about the exchange programme in some
Norwegian schools and not entirely to lack of interest.
From an African perspective, the limited or restricted
access to digital media, as well as high costs are factors
that seem to far outweigh any lack of interest or motivation
in terms of staying in touch with Norwegian students.
19

5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
5.1.
DISCUSSION
Media is increasingly adapted to personal wants and needs
and the technology is with us everywhere we go. Although
Africa has taken huge steps forward in the last decade in
terms of digital development, the two biggest obstacles
for a stable development in Africa today are related to uni-
versal education and to the building of stable democratic
states.
The findings from our analysis indicate that Norris’
definition of the global divide still is a major reason why
communication between youth in Norway and in Africa
is restricted today. The findings do, however show that
the issue is many-faceted. On the one hand, the lack of
basic infrastructure is still a major issue, as well as re-
strictions imposed by schools, which limit students’ use
of mobile phones while on school premises. On the other
hand, the number of mobile phone users is growing at
an explosive rate, and according to the World Bank, the
mobile penetration among the 15 years+ population in
Sub-Saharan Africa is already at 69%, compared to 93%
in Europe. (Handjiski, 2015) In Handjiski’s opinion, the
developing countries will most likely close the global
digital gap within a decade. (ibid.)
Emerging out of cost-efficiency and practicality, mobile
technology is developing at a very rapid rate in Africa.
Compared with computers, mobile phones are affordable
and practical, as they do not need constant access to
electricity and are easy to carry everywhere. African youth
areeagerlyabouttojointhesocialmediarevolution,asthe
technology becomes increasingly available. Services like
mobile banking, M-Pesa, and the dual Sim-card mobile
phone, are African inventions born out of necessity and
are among innovations that are now being exported to
markets with similar needs such as India, Iraq and
Afghanistan. In a continent where electricity is scarce,
new inventions include solar-power chargers. According
to the World Bank, the African mobile IT industry could
be worth $150 billion by 2016. (Ewing et al., 2012)
If we assume that access to technology will become uni-
versally accessible and that the global gap will eventually
disappear, what will happen to Norris’ other two gaps?
According to Handjiski, (2015), the main difference be-
tween the global North and South is that, in the North,
we have everything and we have never really lacked
anything. In the context of the democratic divide and the
mobilization/ normalization theses, one can claim that in
industrialized societies our generation has not had very
much to fight for.
A major reason why the expected behaviour in industri-
alized and developing countries cannot be directly com-
pared, relates to the Matthew effect and the uneven
distribution of wealth, access to education and a stable
political system. While industrialized societies take edu-
cation, a good standard of living, political stability and job
opportunities more or less for granted, the developing
societies have everything to gain by standing up for their
ambition to create a better society. Africa is now in the
process of leapfrogging decades of digital development
in a matter of a few years.
The question is whether they will use their newly gained
voicetomobilizethroughdigitalchannelsinordertochange
and improve their societies. Will they behave differently
than some of the theories discussed in my literature review
suggests, continuing life as normal as the normalization
thesis indicates, or will they take the opportunity to mobil-
ize, challenge authorities and demand change?
Siapera (2006), points to the discussions on the digital
divide and the increasing relevance of new technologies
for questions of social justice. She believes that media
convergence, where the mass media has lost its mono-
poly, has given everyone a voice which can be important
for empowerment and that through education and the
use of new technologies, digital media can be used stra-
tegically to combat the democratic divide.
The question of the social divide is primarily related to
conditions within a society. In the literature review, the-
ories were mainly related to industrialized societies,
where several scholars point to motivation rather than
ability when explaining different usage of the Internet. In
a developing perspective, the issue seems much more
complex, as ability and interest do not take into account
the level of education within the society. Even when having
access to a mobile phone, limited reading skills and a
general poor level of education may prevent a person
from taking advantage of the opportunities of the techno-
logy available.
This is where the Matthew effect and the diffusion theory
come into play yet again. This time, however, the perspe-
ctive is not between the global North and the South, but
between the information rich and the information poor
inside each developing society, where the innovators,
those who have access to an education and to material
wealth, will most likely create a gap between themselves
and those in society who do not have access.
A more optimistic approach would be to suggest that as
the access to technology becomes available to a larger
part of the population, ICT could actually contribute to
reducing illiteracy. Tablets and smartphones are in many
respects constructed to facilitate an intuitive approach,
and could in turn be a great tool for increasing literacy.
Children learn through experimenting and the techno-
logy itself could spark curiosity and interest for learning.
However, lack of motivation and qualifications among
teachers may prove to be yet another obstacle, as their
limited technical knowledge and, therefore, perceived
control, may lead to their losing face in front of their
students. In some developing societies, authorities may
attempt to restrict access used for learning purposes, for
fear of losing control of the information flow.
21

Global digital networks have made the world increasingly
connected and many will agree with Canadian philosopher
ofCommunicationsTheory,MarshallMcLuhan(1962)that
we now live in a “Global Village”. Teenagers today grow up
as part of this rapidly changing digital environment, buil-
ding international friendships without the restrictions of
the national postal services.
The main goal for the students taking part in this survey
is to gain global knowledge and cross-cultural skills, which
they can share in their home environments, in their local
communities and globally through international networks.
In addition, the regular practical use of ICT tools through
communication by social media will give students in the
South, many of which have limited experience with the
use of technology, the opportunity to practice their digital
skills.
This analysis has, however, uncovered the necessity of
providing students in the South with increased access
to digital tools, either by allowing use of existing mobile
phones or by providing access to the Internet.
Our survey describes the situation at one specific time.
A suggestion for further research would be to monitor
the long-term development of the digital contact between
youth in the global North and the South. Will the relati-
onships endure, and if so, how will they develop? Will the
technological development in the South contribute to in-
creased contact? Who will keep contact and who will not?
Enjolras et al. (2013) claim that if social capital can be
measured through meaningful meetings between people
and the opportunity to create social relations, online
relations contribute positively to this, as it makes it pos-
sible to extend the reach and content of social relations.
In their opinion, online groups can be as meaningful
as physical communities, as weak ties are allowed to
develop.
5.2.
CONCLUSION
There are still millions of children without access to basic
education, but the joint global efforts of the United Nations
ambitious Millennium Development Goals have made
great progress in terms of combating illiteracy and
ensuring quality of education. Students from the South
participating in the survey have been among the fortun-
ate ones to see the results of these efforts. Through
access to secondary education, they have laid the foun-
dations for future personal achievements as well as for
their society as a whole.
During the actual exchanges, the youth in the North and
in the South are encouraged to participate actively in their
community, sharing their knowledge of globally sustain-
able development and encouraging critical reflection
on the causes of inequalities within global resources
and political power.
Our empirical investigation of motives for use and access
to ICT in the global North and South suggests that Norris’
different aspects of the digital divide exist to different
degrees within and between the countries analysed.
While children and youth who have grown up in the global
North over the past few decades have become “digital
natives” (Prensky, 2001), the young generations in deve-
loping societies are only just on the cusp of entering the
same phase.

APPENDIX
LITERATURE
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DAHLBERG, LINCOLN AND EUGENIA SIAPERA. 2007
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Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
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The eLearning Africa Report 2014
ICWE: Germany
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Oslo: Cappelen Damm akademisk
EWING, JAVIER, NICOLAS CHEVROLLIER, MARYANNA QUIGLESS, THOMAS VERGHESE AND MATTHIJS LEENDERSTE. 2012
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KASSAM, ALNAAZ, MARIE IDING AND PIETER HOGENBIRK. 2013
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PRENSKY, MARC. 2001
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New York: Cambridge University Press
SIAPERA, E. 2006
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European Journal of Cultural Studies, 9 (1): 5-24. doi: 10.1177/1367549406060804
SUNSTEIN, CASS R. 2007
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UNESCO. 2014
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23

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