- 20/11/2017
- Category: Commentaries
Welcome to Latin America, the region with the world’s largest internet user growth.[i] It is currently the fourth on the world’s highest internet penetration rates, sitting at 62.7%, which is above the global average of 51.7%.[ii] The majority of Latin American internet users also highly engage on social networking sites—14% of global social media users are Latin Americans, despite their population only making up for 8% for the world’s population.[iii] However, this is also the region with the world’s largest income inequality.[iv] This provides a preview of how the developing world is affected by internet diffusion.
Speaking of social media use by the Latin Americans, one reason internet users of Latin America turn to social media is as it provides a counter-hegemonic platform where everyday citizens possess the power to speak. In a region where the mainstream media is usually controlled by corporate and political elites, cyberspace becomes a popular participatory ‘alternative media’.
Social media, specifically, allows groups who have been systematically marginalized and silenced by Latin American mainstream media to easily, affordably and instantly disseminate their message to audiences that are not limited to time, space, distance or ideology. It also provides anonymity for individuals who are physically or psychologically challenged but still want to partake in the conversation.
The role of social media is specifically vital for activists in Latin America. In a survey conducted by Summer Harlow and Dustin Harp, it was revealed that activists in Latin America distrust mainstream media as it is predominantly controlled by those who impede justice. Thus, their rejection of mainstream media becomes a symbolic resistance to supremacy. This, in a way, has become Latin America’s new way of experiencing democracy.[v]
Though access to cyberspace has proved to be beneficial in Latin America’s political climate, some digitally illiterate citizens are still excluded from this newfound democratic dialogue. The internet is becoming increasingly available to many Latin Americans. However, the levels of access differ due to the digital divide. Certain intersections such as gender, literacy, income, urbanicity, quality of access and government filtering mechanisms in half of the region cause the digital divide to decrease at an irregular rate.[vi]
There is also the concern of accurate and reliable information. If citizens were to depend on ‘alternative media’ to stay informed, then they must be equipped with the skills and literacy to discern false information or hoaxes. Otherwise, only the better educated will keep profiting.
One researcher also mentioned how heightened exposure to the internet in Latin America increases the likelihood of coming across dissident information, which creates space for alternative political views. While it is part of democracy to question the current political power, cyberspace could potentially become the birthplace of organized hate groups, where the activity may shift from being online to offline. Those who are lacking digital literacy skills may also not know how to discern content made by potentially harmful hate movements.[vii]
One initiative to increase digital literacy in Latin America is Colombia’s Vive Digital (Live Digital)—launched by president Juan Manuel Santos in 2010, to create jobs, improve economic growth and reduce poverty. This government initiative has introduced Puntos Vive Digital (community internet centers) with digital literacy training programs; ConVertic, distribution of free software for the visually-impaired and relay centers for the hearing-impaired; improving the citizens’ relationship with Gobierno en Línea (e-government) and internet subsidies for lower-income populations. Through this initiative, Colombia is said to become the most connected country in the Andean region.[viii]
So what can we learn from this? Despite the digital divide, Latin American activists still deem the cyberspace as a crucial and beneficial alternative public space. Latin Americans do not just use the internet to socialize on networking sites; they also use it to consume news and build a community to combat against the mainstream media hegemony.
Although this demand for a counter-hegemonic media may have partly aided in closing the digital divide in Latin America, no effort of bridging the digital divide is successful without the implementation of digital literacy. It is important for every citizen to have equal access to the internet. However, it is just as important that citizens are being educated on how to use the internet. Cyberspace may create an abundance of opportunities that would not have existed otherwise, but citizens must be equipped with digital literacy skills to explore those opportunities to the fullest. Perhaps Indonesia could learn from Latin America that digital literacy education is as essential as closing the digital divide.
Picture: pixabay.com
References :
[i] Gainous, J, Wagner, K & Gray, T 2016, ‘Internet freedom and social media effects: democracy and citizen attitudes in Latin America’, Emerald Insight, vol. 40, no. 5, pp. 712–738.
[ii] Internet World Stats 2017, World Internet User Statistics, Internet World Stats,
[iii] Gainous, J, Wagner, K & Gray, T 2016.
[iv] Rezende, J, Díaz-Pinés, A, Hernández, J, Blanco, CL & Katz, R 2017, ‘Ask the Experts: Technology in Latin America’, American Quarterly,
[v] Harlow, S & Harp, D 2013, ‘Alternative media in a digital era: Comparing news and information use among activists in the United States and Latin America’, Communication & Society, vol. 26. no. 4. pp. 25–51.
[vi] Pietrass, M 2007, ‘Digital Literacy Research from an International and Comparative Point of View’, Research in Comparative and International Education, vol. 2. no. 1, pp. 1–12.
[vii] Gainous, J, Wagner, K & Gray, T 2016.
[viii] Vega, DM 2017, ‘Colombia’s Internet Advantage’, American Quarterly,
