Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Young Australians are not apathetic, deviant, and technology-dependent

By Ariadne Vromen - posted Thursday, 17 June 2004


Myth 3. Young people are technology dependent

Australians now have broad access to sophisticated information and communication technologies. Many assume that young people primarily benefit from and have become dependent on these technologies. This view sees young people as atomised individuals distanced from society and community building as a direct result of their Internet usage.

Young people use the Internet more often than their elders and for a broader range of reasons. The media has gone on to construct an "us and them", often a "parents versus children", competition. For example, the following newspaper quote has young people living in a different world, enabled by new technologies: "The overwhelming message to teenagers today is that authorities, parents and lawmakers, are impotent in the online world."

What few people recognise is that nearly 40 per cent of 18-34 year olds use the 'net rarely, if ever. The gap between those who do and those who don't use the 'net has been called "the digital divide". The idea of the digital divide is usually applied to different age groups, that is, a divide between parents and their children. But the concept can also be applied within an age group. Factors other than generation divide young people into frequent or rare 'net users. What this implies is that we should worry more about unevenness of access and class-based differences. The digital divide is between the information-rich and the information poor. People living in cities, the highly educated, those who earn more money, white-collar workers are more likely to use both e-mail and the Internet frequently. Young people differ little on what they use e-mail and the Internet for - it is generally for work, for study and to keep in touch with people.

Advertisement

And anyway, maybe we should see technology as liberating for young people - why shouldn't they be able to do something their parents can't? Technology is an important indicator of social change and progress, and we should worry more about whether differential access to the Internet, to mobile phones, or to computers in general, indicates a growing class divide within this generation that will shape future economic opportunities.

Young People and Community

It is time to let go of these myths. Young people have a broad range of economic, social, and political experiences. Harking back to perceptions of a cohesive community of a bygone era is a political exercise that only serves to exclude people. Instead, we need to create inclusive forms of governance that recognise and build upon different ways of making communities. Those in power need to listen to young people more, young people's diverse views and experiences need to be articulated in the media, and intellectual focus should be on structural change rather than individual blame.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. Page 3
  5. All

Article edited by Margaret-Ann Williams.
If you'd like to be a volunteer editor, too, click here.This piece was first published in The Drawing Board.



Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

2 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Dr Ariadne Vromen is a lecturer in the Discipline of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. Her research and teaching interests in the field of political sociology include: political participation, community development and young people and politics.

Related Links
Ariadne Vromen's Home Page
The Drawing Board
Photo of Ariadne Vromen
Article Tools
Comment 2 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy