Public Information and Digital Literacy as Prerequisites to Development of Informational and Computer-Aided Technologies (ICT)

Abstract

The present paper represents the analysis of social groups’ behavior from the perspective of adjustment to digital technologies, just as this behavior’s impression on development of informational and computer-aided technologies in all areas of society. Urgency of the research of digital and information practices of inhabitants, their motivation in the course of learning digital technologies is in no doubt accounts for theoretical and practical relevance. The paper’s methodological part contains theoretical approaches and classification of public digital practices, operationalization of the subject matter. The subject matter presents itself as digital and informational activities of social groups and strata. It is the purpose of the analysis to define the decisive factors, boosting public digital activities and development of informational and computer-aided technologies (ICT). The empirical part of the paper is based on the author’s social research data pertinent to public digital and information practices (2018); the questionnaire survey sampling covers the Volga regions’ population, inhabiting in urban and rural settlements, and having various age-specific and educational characteristics. The paper contains risk considerations subject to ICT development within social space, learning levels that inhabitants of Russia’s regions have in respect of specific information, communication and consumption possibilities of ICT—from basic ones to Internet of things; described are incentives of activity increase and scaling back of digital technique deficiency.