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PP 067
Are We All Knowledgeable Now? The Knowledge Gap Hypothesis in Times of Digital Divide
P. Lupac
1
1
Charles University in Prague- Faculty of Arts, Department of Sociology, Prague, Czech Republic
The knowledge gap research tradition seems to be almost dead as it draws minor attention nowadays. However, the old issue has got a new impetus in
the form of prevalent use of ICT. This fact has been utilized by several studies trying either to update the first-generation conceptions of knowledge gap
by following educational differences in Internet use (Bonfadelli, 2002; Kim, 2008; Yang & Grabe, 2011) or to add practice level by conceptualizing usage
gap (van Dijk, 2005; van Deursen & van Dijk, 2013). Drawing on the massmedia-framed knowledge gap research (Gaziano, 1983, 1995), the paper will
show how today's use of knowledge gap hypothesis in Internet research overlooks both the richness of knowledge gap research history and contextual
factors of information consumption. On this background, the author will present the Czech 2014 data about the perceived increase in knowledgeability
among Czech Internet users and the results of multiple regression analysis using this increase as a dependent variable and sociodemographics, digital skills,
information habitus (aka motivation), ego-centric network, and Internet use indispensability as independent variables. The sample is 1316 respondents
representative for the Czech population 15+. As a conclusion, the possible directions of the knowledge gap research in the times of SNS are outlined.
PP 068
The Use of ICT in the Social Theoretical Perspective Linked to the Process of Growing Old
C. Azevedo
1
1
New University of Lisbon, Social Science, Lisbon, Portugal
The majority of the studies about old people is theoretically poor. This same perception was already noticed by Bengtson in 1997 when he stated that "in
their search to examine individual and social aspects of aging, the researchers have been quick to provide facts, but slow in integrating them within an ex‑
planatory theoretical framework, connecting their conclusions to social phenomena already established" (1997, p. 72). This observation is particularly true
when we refer to research that deal with thematic elderly and information and communication technologies (ICT), because little attention has been given in
the theoretical discussion of the history of aging and its interaction with technology (Mollenkopf and Fozard 2004). The definition of active aging suggests
that the quality of life during the aging process is connected to the participation of the individual in society that can result from the development of activi‑
ties or the lack of it in a period of advanced life and among others, we could point the use of ICT. With the objective of analyzing the reality, we interviewed
20 Portuguese with ages between 65 and 90 years about their use and ownership of ICTS, notably the computer, the cell phone and the tablet with internet
connection. As the basis for the analysis of collecting data, we used the theories of activity (Havighurst and Albrecht 1953), the theory of continuity (Atchley
1989), the selective optimization with compensation model (Baltes and Baltes 1990) and, finally, the theory of innovation of successful aging (G. Nimrod
and Kleiber 2007). In this way, the present research focuses on how these theories and theoretical models linked to gerontology can help us to reflect on
the perspective of the advanced aging process and the use of technologies as regards the transformations that occur in the course of life of individuals, as
well as the adjustments to the social changes. According to the interviews, we conclude that: 1 - The activity theory and its close relationship with the con‑
cept of active aging is a powerful means of identifying and pointing the constraints of the importance of the elderly to remain active with the objective
of having quality of life; 2 - The selective optimization with compensation model helped us to understand the importance of elderly people to adapt to new
realities during aging advanced using ICT; 3 –The continuity theory helped us to understand why some of the elderly who participated in this research have
resistance to use ICT; 4 - The theory of innovation of successful aging advocated about the importance of the use of ICT in the leisure activities a significant
part in the quality of life for the elderly who took part in this study.
PP 069
Post-Totalitarian Surveillance: Data and Information in the Late-Modern Society
L. Skouvig
1
, J.E. Mai
1
1
University of Copenhagen, RSLIS, Copenhagen S, Denmark
Big Brother (Orwell, 1949) and Panopticon (Bentham, 1787; Foucault, 1977) are often employed as metaphors to present static visions of large scale sur‑
veillance aimed at gathering information (files) about citizens with the intention of disciplining them. This kind of surveillance forms a nexus with a specific
understanding of information and the emergence of the modern information (nation) state (Weller, 2012). Information is regarded as reified entities and
representing actual state of affairs in the world. Though Foucault (1977) argued that Panopticon was a knowledge production site it represents surveillance
as mainly an information gathering strategy. We will in this paper argue that notions of Panopticon and Big Brother are insufficient for understanding
the relations between information and surveillance in the late-modern society. The late-modern information society is characterized by ubiquitous digital
media and data-driven businesses. And as such, it is characterized by a different sort of surveillance and information gathering than implied by the Pan‑
opticon and Big Brother; it is a post-totalitarian surveillance regime where gathering of information is performed by data-driven organizations through
digital media and ICT technology. This kind of surveillance changes metaphors such as ‘watching’, ‘invasion’, ‘private’ space, ‘rights’, ‘coercion’, ‘consent’ and
‘files’that traditionally are used to describe surveillance activities (Agre, 1994). They either take on newmeanings or become irrelevant. It is a society which
infrastructure – the digital infrastructure – is designed to capture and register information about its citizens through their mere interaction via digital media
and other ICT technologies. It is a society in which people contribute to the massive production of personal information in what has been called the “great
privacy give-away”(Allen, 2013, p. 847).The information is gathered and stored by private corporations, used for targeted advertising, or sold to commercial
data brokers – and sometimes accessed by state agencies. The late-modern information society thus reproduces an understanding of information that was
formulated within the frames of the modern information state. Yet, we argue that information is tied to context, situation, place and time. We argue that
systems devised by states, private organizations and enterprises to gather, store, and analyze information, represent unique and concrete understandings
of information. Thus information itself can only be understood and applied in context. In other words, the meaning of the information is significant when