Public access, private mobile : the interplay of shared access and the mobile Internet for teenagers in Cape Town
Date
2012-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Cape Town
Abstract
The study assesses and describes the interplay
between public PC-based Internet access and
private mobile-based access for urban teenaged
public access venue (PAV) users in Cape
Town. South Africa is a particularly fruitful
“leading edge” environment to do this work
since not only mobile use, but specifically
mobile Internet use, is increasingly common
even among resource-constrained young
people. We combine quantitative surveys with
open-ended interviews of users and PAV
operators. Discussion is structured around five
claims: 1) Public access and private mobiles
offer different affordances, and teenage users
have developed complex, fine-grained practices
which help them to negotiate the respective
strengths and weaknesses of the affordances. 2)
The PAV provides non-substitutable impact to
resource-constrained users, even those with
“the Internet in their pocket.” 3) Public access
supports the development of digital literacies
associated with hyperlinked media and largeformat
documents, while mobile access
supports everyday social literacies and
messaging. 4) Teens can use a combination of
mobile and public access Internet resources to
participate in networked media production and
grassroots economic mobilization. 5) PAV
operators can improve venue rules and skills to
encourage the complementary use of the
mobile Internet.
Description
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IDRC-Related Report
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Text
Keywords
PUBLIC ACCESS, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT), ICT, ICTD, M4D, MOBILE INTERNET, CELLULAR PHONES, CYBERCAFES, ICT4D, LIBRARIES, MOBILE PHONES, SOUTH AFRICA--CAPE TOWN