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ICTs as a Tool for Cultural Dominance: Prospects for a Two‐Way Street
Author(s) -
Andrade Antonio Díaz,
Urquhart Cathy
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the electronic journal of information systems in developing countries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.41
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 1681-4835
DOI - 10.1002/j.1681-4835.2009.tb00257.x
Subject(s) - the internet , icts , dominance (genetics) , information and communications technology , lingua franca , sociology , digital divide , public relations , political science , business , internet privacy , world wide web , computer science , humanities , art , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
While the case for information and communication technologies (ICTs) for development is largely accepted, it should be remembered that ICTs carry embedded in them sets of cultural assumptions. Efforts to close the digital divide are insufficient if those efforts remain oblivious to the cultural dominance of English language content available on the Internet. This paper discusses how the proliferation of the Internet has resulted in a cultural homogenisation via the lingua franca of the Internet, English. It then discusses the case of Latin American Internet portals to illustrate how local content provision on the Internet can be successful in attracting a local audience.