Information Technology Reference
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information society and how this might explain
the current picture of ICT adoption in the country:
incidents of suicide on the Internet much more
extensively than the Internet benefits. We believe
that this contributes significantly to social fear,
obscurantism and ignorance'.
However, elite actors such as Nicos Frydas do
not specifically refer to the reasons the Greek mass
media does not take an equally critical approach to
mobile telephony: is this because mobile telephony
raises fewer risks and fears or because the Greek
context is such that it treats ICTs differently and
for different reasons? This distinctive treatment of
apparently not particularly dissimilar ICTs, such
as mobile phones and the Internet, raises not only
the question of how mobile telephony differs from
other ICTs but also the ambivalent role of social
culture in this respect. As a result, some elite ac-
tors made contradictory statements regarding the
distinctiveness and future of the Greek information
society as a whole. On one hand, they acknowl-
edged the distinctiveness of the Greek case on
the basis of the example of the Internet. On the
other hand, they made contradictory remarks when
issues of Greek identity and culture were raised
with respect to the particularly positive reception
of mobile telephony in the country:
Vassileios Asimakopoulos (former Special Secre-
tary of the Operational Programme Information
Society):...the difficulties...relate to the fact that we
talk about technology in a society that is marked
by technophobia...and this has influenced, in
terms of delays, the efficiency of the Operational
Programme Information Society, as even members
of the public authorities in charge, such as Min-
istries...do not put as much effort into it as they
should, possibly because they do not understand
the benefits of technology or because they are
afraid of it.
Interviewer:...it has to do with culture...
VA: (interrupts) Yes...this definitely reflects the
dominant culture in society.
In addition to the socio-cultural traits of the
Greek context and largely as a result of them,
Nicos Frydas, President of the Greek Hotline for
safe usage of the Internet, referred to 'hysterical
media propaganda' to explain the varying recep-
tions of different technologies by Greek society
(e.g. mobile telephony and the Internet) and Greek
people's resistance to the Internet in particular:
'regarding the Internet, the fear of fraud has af-
fected people. This has made us suspicious and
reluctant, and the hysterical media propaganda has
contributed to this reluctance'. He argued that the
media could and should play a more positive role
as the medium through which citizens' voices are
heard: '…we need co-regulation, supervision and
control of the central authorities. To me, the state
and the media, which reflect social concerns, are
the drivers of the process'. The negative role of
the (mass) media in Internet usage was also argued
by Sophia Parissi, a key player in the IT market
in Greece: '...we constantly see negative media
representations of the Internet. For example, the
media presents child pornography and occasional
Interviewer: Is Greek society characterised by
such a culture affecting, in turn, the course of the
information society?
NF: We have the example of mobile telephony
that enjoyed commercial success soon after its ap-
pearance. Hence, Greek citizens accept anything
new…there are indications that the Greek citizen
can accept the new…it might not be the rule, it
might be the exception though.
Overall, most elite actors recognised the
existence of a cultural identity that drives, in
their view, Greek society towards maintaining a
traditional lifestyle and dissociating itself from
the powerful world of new technologies. This
identity was characterised as non-technocratic and
technophobic, while issues of social ignorance
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