Abstract
A case study of Sweden and Lithuania aims at analysing the important question of inclusion and exclusion when it comes to the media literacy and the digital divide. Analysis of country-level factors, such as social-stratification, technological infrastructure, educational system, cultural values is provided with the goal to identify the keen factors widening the digital divide of certain population groups in both countries. The study has revealed that in regard to media literacy, age matters the most in case of Lithuania. On the contrary, in Sweden the digital divide between different age groups is diminishing but the media literacy of socio-economically marginalized groups (immigrants in particular) is much lower as compared to the general trends in population. The digital generation – children and teenagers – have got much more in common in both countries as opposed to the senior adult populations. Santrauka Švedijos ir Lietuvos tarpkultūrinio atvejo tyrimo tikslas – išanalizuoti visuo- menės medijų raštingumo lygmenį atskirose socialinėse grupėse. Siekdami atskleisti pagrindinius veiksnius, lemiančius gyventojų grupių skaitmeninę at- skirtį, atsižvelgėme į socialinės stratifikacijos ypatumus, technologijų infras- truktūros, švietimo sistemos ir kultūrinių vertybių prioritetų skirtumus abiejose šalyse. Atliktas tyrimas atskleidė, kad Lietuvoje amžius yra pagrindinis veiks- nys, lemiantis medijų raštingumo lygmenį. Tačiau Švedijoje medijų raštingu- mo gebėjimai įvairiose amžiaus grupėse vienodėja, nors į skaitmeninę atskirtį patenka imigrantų grupės, daugiausia dėl socialinių ir ekonominių priežasčių. Skaitmeninė karta – vaikai ir paaugliai – abiejose šalyse turi panašius skaitme- ninius gebėjimus, todėl skaitmeninė atskirtis aktualesnė vyresniojo amžiaus gyventojų grupėse. Reikšminiai žodžiai: skaitmeninė kultūra, skaitmeninė atskirtis, skaitmeninė karta, medijų raštingumas, tinklaveikos visuomenė, socialinė stratifikacija.
Highlights
The study focuses on two interconnected themes and challenges, namely the similarities and differences regarding acquisition of media literacy and patterns of digital divide persistent in the local contexts of two countries – Sweden and Lithuania
In order to compare country-level variations, we have conducted the secondary analysis of the data from the survey Special Eurobarometer 390, “Cyber Security”: Report accomplished in 27 European Union (EU) countries in 2012
The starting point for this cross-cultural case study is that Lithuania and Sweden are different societies, but share a number of global challenges related to the advancement of digital technologies and acquisition of media literacy
Summary
The study focuses on two interconnected themes and challenges, namely the similarities and differences regarding acquisition of media literacy and patterns of digital divide persistent in the local contexts of two countries – Sweden and Lithuania. As Kristina Hooper Woolsey puts it, “the context for the interactions and exchange of these media have been altered drastically by digital technologies, creating a very new digital ‘soup’ in which we humans are exchanging and developing our ideas” (Woolsey 2005: 2) In such a context, it is crucial to develop the skills of media literacy as well as to understand the importance of it as a 21st century approach to education. The study aims at achieving three objectives: first, to describe the characteristic traits of the digital generation; second, to explore country-level factors, such as social-stratification, technological infra-structure, educational system, cultural values in order to reveal the possible reasons for digital divide in a population; and to analyse cross-cultural similarities and differences, comparing Sweden with Lithuania, providing the tentative conclusions how country-level factors can explain the observed patterns of variations in regard to media literacy and digital divide. Media literacy and digital divide: a cross-cultural case study of Sweden and Lithuania
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