Open AccessHome, School, Borrowed, Public or Mobile: Variations in Young Singaporeans' Internet Access and Their Implications
Author(s) -
LIM Sun Sun
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of computer‐mediated communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.15
H-Index - 119
ISSN - 1083-6101
DOI - 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01488.x
Subject(s) - the internet , public access , internet access , mobile internet , business , curriculum , internet privacy , economic growth , computer science , economics , world wide web
This paper studied uneven Internet access amongst young people in Singapore. The study finds that young Singaporeans access the Internet mainly through home, school, borrowed, public, and mobile sources, with different implications for each type of Internet access. For those with home or mobile access, Internet use was routinised and often intense, even burdensome and distracting on occasions. For those who relied on borrowed, school, or public access, intermittent use appeared adequate but hampered their ability to hone online skills to the levels of their peers. The study also finds that although systematic incorporation of IT into the national curriculum can encourage parity in basic exposure to online skills, developing greater Internet proficiency is more likely with home Internet access.