Confronting the First-Level Digital Divide in the Digital Age: A Comparison Between Public and Private University Students in Turkiye

Abstract

Although access to ICT tools is improving worldwide, the first-level digital divide is still one of the major problems for university students. The inequality that can be seen in the level of access to ICT tools among university students shows that there is more to be said about this problem in the field of higher education. This paper discusses the problem through the example of university students in Turkey. The variables are fixed broadband subscription, ownership of smart TV and paid smart TV applications, a personal computer, and paid mobile applications for ICT access. As a result of the survey given to 2,206 respondents, it showed that private university students have more access to ICTs than public university students, - this difference does not depend only on income level. Additionally, it was determined that there is a significant relationship between income level, parents' education level, where a student lives and ICT ownership. This is significant because as higher education opportunities in Turkey are spread all over the country many students do not have equal access to ICT tools. This study analyzed the effects of the first-level digital divide in Turkey by using a quantitative method.

Keywords

• Digitalization
• First-level digital divide
• undergraduate students
• digital inequality
• educational inequality

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