Young people’s Internet use and its significance for informal education and social participation

Abstract

This paper focuses on digital inequality – a key mediating issue within the education technology debate. In particular, it examines how the social and cultural resources of young people relate to their usage behaviour within the informal space of the Internet and what options are available to counter this digital inequality in terms of encouraging online informative and educative activities. Based on a survey of 1024 young people in Germany (aged between 14 and 23 years), data show that even among young users, who are supposedly the ‘Internet‐savvy’ generation, significant and enduring inequalities of outcome persist – especially in terms of different indicators of educational background. The paper presents a detailed analysis of the ways in which young people use the Internet, showing significant differences in the use of different services – and, beyond this, in the ways in which the same services are used. The implications of these divisions for those seeking to encourage use of the Internet for informal and formal education are discussed.