The Three Levels of the Digital Divide: Barriers in Access, Use and Utility of Internet among Young People in Spain

This paper explores the three levels of digital divide among young people living in the re-gion of Madrid (Spain). We use a qualitative approach, based on 20 in-depth interviews, in order to describe the personal process of Inter-net appropriation among this collective, taking into account the diffe...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Calderón Gómez, Daniel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/91514
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91514
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Youth
Digital technologies
Internet
Digital divide
Juventude
Tecnologias digitais
Clivagem digital
Sociología
6307.07 Tecnología y Cambio Social
Descripción
Sumario:This paper explores the three levels of digital divide among young people living in the re-gion of Madrid (Spain). We use a qualitative approach, based on 20 in-depth interviews, in order to describe the personal process of Inter-net appropriation among this collective, taking into account the differences associated to gen-der, age, education, geographical habitat and type of technology use. Taking into account the three levels of the digital divide, we explore 5 important barriers (access, skills, motiva-tion, emotions and utility) that influence the type of use of digital technologies by young people. We conclude that, even among young-sters who frequently use digital technologies, there are important asymmetries and barriers that limit the utility they can get from them, related to their sociocultural background and their personal processes of technological so-cialization.