Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
variety of purposes. In part due to sustained and aggressive promotion by their
respective national governments, Scandinavian states are well known to exhibit
some of the world's best developed internet infrastructures, including broadband
and wireless internet services, and exceptionally high levels of usage. Indeed,
penetration rates in all Scandinavian nations exceed 90 %, often reaching as high
as 96 %. Thus, what is essentially universal access to the internet has thus
essentially eliminated the digital divide in Scandinavian states, in marked contrast
to the highly unequal state of affairs in the United States. This state of affairs
reflects a wealthy, highly educated populace as well as liberal government pro-
grams that aggressively promoted internet and other forms of telecommunications
usage. In Sweden and Canada, for example, a steady convergence of internet,
telephony, and video services has occurred, blurring once separate markets and
reducing costs to consumers (Wu 2004 ). Finland in particular has had exceptional
success in providing wireless services, a reflection of that nation's lead in mobile
and cellular telephony (e.g. Nokia) for more than a generation (Palmberg 2002 ;
Steinbock 2001 ). In Scandinavia, as in most of the world, internet usage has been
particularly popular among the young. Given that schools in Scandinavia actively
promote learning of information technologies, the widespread popularity of such
devices among the young is not surprising. Indeed, an adolescent blogosphere has
formed in which views are expressed, identities shaped, and connections forged
(Bjanason et al. 2010 ; Kaare et al. 2007 ). Generally, information technologies in
Scandinavia, as elsewhere, reinforce communities forged through face-to-face
contacts rather than generate new ones (Thulin and Vilhelmson 2005 ).
In Southern Europe, where internet use lags behind that in the northern parts of
the continent, the internet still plays an important role in the lives of Italians,
Spaniards, and Portuguese. In Italy, its use predictably follows the long-standing
north-south divide. Fiber connections and broadband were until recently largely
confined to prosperous metropolitan areas such as Rome and Milan. Thus, while
penetration rates in the Piedmont resemble those of Northern Europe, the Mezz-
ogiorno, home to one-third of the population, has less than one-quarter of its
netizens, although this gap appears to be declining. Italy also faces a tremendous
age barrier in internet use: 79 % of Italians under age 30 use the web, but only 7 %
of those over 65 do so. The Spanish case is similar, with Madrid and Barcelona
dominating the country's internet connectivity. Rural areas such as Extremadura
and Castilla y León lag well behind. PC ownership in Spain and Portugal lags well
behind the EU average, and both countries exhibit a pronounced gender bias in
favor of males. The Spanish government responded with a series of subsidized
telecentros in rural areas, but dropped the program in 2006. Most regional gov-
ernments adopted complementary programs, including subsidized wifi access in
parks and public buildings.
Eastern Europe lags well behind the west in internet access. Typically, poorer
countries have worse digital divides than do wealthier ones, and in Europe Greece
and Bulgaria exhibit some of the worst regional differentials (Vicente and López
2011 ). In the Czech Republic, one of the region's better-connected countries,
widening
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