BRIEF RESUME
Leila is an interesting case. She does not like internet because she thinks she is not fast enough. She feels different from her younger sister Julieta, who enjoys surfing the net. The school where all these kids interviewed in a rural area go to, does not have internet so Julieta usually goes to a cyber café or friends´ houses to be connected to the net. Leila does not want to be ashamed of what she thinks her poor performance when in front of a computer and she prefers to say that she is just not interested…”Perhaps when we have internet at home…” “perhaps I´ll then learn a bit more and I´ll like it more…right now I prefer the mobile…”
The same thing was found when carrying out research with kids that live or spend most of their time in
They learn horizontally: kids with kids; not adults teaching kids. As Margaret Mead said…“in this new paradigms also adults have to learn from kids”. Television is a very important thing in Leila´s life; it is switched on during most of the day.
She talked about a soap opera that received all the awards last year “ Stolen Lives”. The socialization process was very important because youngsters talked about it every day at school and also with their families. We carried out a study in the Instituto de Investigación en Medios and we found that this soap opera was a very powerful motivator for students and adults all around the country. We also gave an award to the producers because it was the programme with the highest level of Social Responsibility in the consideration of social problems in the last 8 years.[2]
The cellular phone is for this adolescent the most important technological device. It is the way to be in contact with friends and family. She also said that she would even steal to have one. “I´d die without one… I am out of everything” and when we asked her: “Outside of what?” she answered: “Of life, of friends…who´s going to call you to your home phone? Nobody! You don´t exist…I´m sure I´ll be missing something important! I think I would steal if I don´t have a mobile…whatever…I need it!” “It´s something that happens to all of us…if you don´t have one you´re out!” “If I´m not in touch I´m dead…it´s my problem”
To be in touch is life, you exist that way...These adolescents feel they can die if they do not have the devices to be in contact and this is important because it is felt in a very small town where everybody lives quite near. It doesn’t mean that they are not going to be in contact; it is a symbolic manifestation of the meaning of social use of technology. And in a similar way that in Egypt and Finland the regular phone is not anymore useful for kids.
[1] Merlo Flores, Tatiana; Hambre de Inclusión e Identidad, Anales de
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3731908.stm; http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3368761.stm
Videogames improve street children's learning skills and social inclusion, Argentine research finds out.
Against all odds, most of the street children in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires are breaking the digital divide thanks to their passion for videogames, a local NGO has found out. According with this study, eight out of ten of the up to 5,000 kids living or working in the streets of Buenos Aires are regular video game players, mostly in cyber cafés and arcades. 80% are regular video game players 95% of boys go to cyber cafés and arcades almost daily Girls prefer home console games 66% prefer non violent games
[2] Merlo Flores, Tatiana, Medición del Impacto Televisivo, Niveles de involucramiento de la audiencia; Editorial
TRANSCRIPTION (ENGLISH VERSION)
Interviews in a rural area. 700 km. from the Capital City. A primary school. The school board plus the teachers were there and showed great interest in the study although a permit was necessary and the general supervisor, who lives in the nearby town, was unavailable and the permission to perform the interviews at school would take at least 15 days. Future interviews would be most welcome so a faster and easier way had to be found.
The Public library was the place chosen. The mother of the two girls who were interviewed studies to get a degree in librarianship and is a friend of the current librarian. She was the one who connected to the other two adolescents to be interviewed. All interviews were performed at a private home.
Leila 16 years old.
Julieta´s older sister. Julieta was previously interviewed. Leila arrived with her boyfriend Julian when we were interviewing Julieta and her friend Barbara.
Leila as well as Julian live in the same neighbourhood built by the government for people with low income: 12 houses in all. Julian´s house is 50 metres from his girlfriend´s . The town where they live has a population of 250 people and lacks a public phone booth, a cyber (a public place with phones and internet). They don´t have a bar, a cafeteria where to meet or places for teens to go dancing.
The only open shops are: a bicycle repair; a general grocery store; the hardware store; the library and a first aid area. It has a primary school but not a secondary school.
To go to school, they must take a small bus that makes four trips a day to the nearby town 17 km away. All the kids interviewed go to that school.
The interview was performed at Leila´s home and her mother and her mother´s husband were present. They didn´t participate but just came in and out of the room paying attention to what was going on, listening to the questions and answers carefully, showing perhaps certain mistrust because they didn´t know the interviewers. The contact was through the librarian an acquaintance of one of the interviewers.
Leila´s sister and a friend who already had been interviewed went to Barbara´s house next to theirs.
The mother told us that she would prefer us no to tape the interviews.
The mother´s wish has already been registered as such so the interviews were not recorded. We ask here to write this require in the permission that she already sign.
T: I have already explained to your sister Julieta and her friend Barbara the reason why we are so interested in interviewing you. We are carrying out research with other countries: Finland and Egypt to understand how teenagers like you use the means of communication. It´s a comparative work and it is very important that you feel free to answer what you think and feel. Your answers will not be identified as yours. They will go as part of others answered by teens like you and nobody will know who answered or what was answered. Your mother asked me no to record them so my colleague will take notes. Is it ok with you?
L: It´s ok but I´m warning you that I´m quite shy.
T: Not to worry…you are going to tell me only what you want. Besides it´s only about what you do with your cell phone, if you watch TV, if you surf the net…
L: I´m not like my sister Julieta. She´s younger than me but she raves about Internet. I don´t.
T: What do you use most?
L: The mobile; I can´t be without it.
T: Tell me, what is it you like about it?
L: I like to receive messages; a boy calls me; another writes “beautiful”…the way we tal to one another…
T: Do you know them all?
L: Sometimes one you don´t know calls you…I shut it and that´s it…
T: How many calls do you make per day?
L: Not really calls, just short messages. At least 50 a day.
T. Who do you send messages most?
L: To my boyfriend…most are to him.
T: But doesn´t he live next door…?and you go to the same school…?
L: Sure, we are all the time together but I like to send him messages when he goes to play football or to hang out with friends. And I like to receive his too…
T: 50 messages ? What do you write to him ?
L : Complete nonsense…how are you? what are you doing? I like to know what he´s doing all the time…to be connected…
T: What would you do if you didn´t have a mobile?
L: I would die…it´s like to be outside of everything…I would just die…
T: Outside of what?
L: Of life, of friends…who´s going to call you through your home phone? Nobody! You don´t exist…I´m sure I´ll be missing something important! I think I would steal if I don´t have a mobile…whatever…I need it!
It´s something that happens to all of us…if you don´t have one you´re out!
If I´m not in touch I´m dead…it´s my problem…I need it. Julian (her boyfriend) when he is far away I don´t see him and I need to have everything under control…to know who he is with…what´s he doing…I ask him everything…it´s this need I feel…
T : And Internet?
L. I don´t like it too much. I´m slow. I was telling you, I´m different from my sister.
T: In what way…
L: I don´t write fast…I don´t know as much as them.
T: And, can´t you ask them for help?
L: No, I can´t. With Internet you have to deal with it alone…I think it´s difficult; you learn through watching…testing yourself and making mistakes and I don´t have a computer at home to practice.
T: And how about asking?
L: I have my pride, you know…!! If you ask they´ll think you are stupid.
But when I have it at home, perhaps I´ll learn a bit more and then I´ll like it more…right now I prefer the mobile…
T: Tell me something about TV
L: I watch it quite a lot…if not…what do you talk about at school…
T: What programs do you all talk most about?
L Remember “Stolen Lives” the series that showed a real case of a girl abducted to force her into prostitution. It was a gang that did it…and every day we talked about what had happened , the evil of the bad guys…and all of us liked it, all the girls, and it was sensitive too…
T: And if you didn´t watch it?
L: You couldn´t ! If not, you didn´t have a thing to talk about at school…everybody saw it…
T: How many hours per day do you watch TV?
L: Let´see….the TV is always on, even though none of us are watching it…´cause when interesting things go on you can watch them…I always do my homework with the telly on, always…And then, some things we all watch them, for ex. that one I told you about “Stolen Lives” . All the family watched it…and we talked about if we could go out alone or not, how we had to take care of ourselves, and all that…
Sometimes, we also watch the news because it is on while we are eating…
T: Do you think that Internet, TV, mobiles, can help you in any way?
L: Yes, I do. I think, for ex. if I want to become a history professor, I can log in and find things on different countries…what really happens…things to study…you can make a whole career through Internet. But I don´t want to do that . I want to go to university, move to a city…make money…and live well.
T: Have you ever participated with other kids to change things through the means of communication?
L: Sure, to change the date of a party or where we were going to meet and the like…but important things…no I don´t remember doing that…
T: I thank you so much for everything you have told me Leila, and sincerely hope that you become a very good history professor. I now see Julian at the door…Would you mind lending him to me a bit so I can ask him questions similar to those you have just answered?
END
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