This dissertation covers the Digital Divide phenomena in the Istrian region.
Istria is a Northern Adriatic peninsula that is administratively divided between three European countries: Croatia (which covers approximately 90% of the peninsula), Slovenia (app. 7%), and Italy (app. 3%).
In this dissertation my goal was to articulate the most influential theoretical frameworks that are used to explain the Digital Divide today and I try to give an explanation of the issue through ethnographic procedures.
The goals of this research include the examination of the current Digital Divide debate, extension of the theory toward the local understanding and perception of this global phenomenon.
Additionally, I wanted to identify different interpretations of the Digital Divide in three countries within one region and compare the differences and similarities in new technology usage and perceptions.
Also, I was interested to see how age - which is described as one of the major Digital Divide factors - influences the relationships between older and younger generations, specifically relationships between parents and children, instructors, students and co-workers.
I conclude that in the researched region, age of the respondents makes an important distinction between computer and Internet users and that individuals shape their attitudes toward the ICTs in accordance with their perceived role in the society (primarily as parents and children).
In order to give a more understandable picture of the Digital Divide phenomena, I use the Bourdieu’s “Theory of Practice” framework and his notions about the literacy to accentuate the importance of exchange between community members and their possible change of attitude toward the new technologies that can occur in that exchange process.
I suggest three approaches toward the solution of the problem: education (which should involve the members of the community that are not currently involved in educational processes), family interaction (where younger family members have a possibility to influence the older members to change the approach toward the new technologies) and market changes (that should promote competition and more accessible services).