Digital division and examination of new media literacy in the context of rural and urban origin

With the development and spread of information and communication technologies, the media environment has gained new features and the concept of new media has emerged. New media has become the subject of many researches with the opportunities it provides and the risks it carries. Especially the fact that children start using new media from an early age and for longer periods increases the importance and necessity of new media literacy. The fact that new communication technologies have a great importance in the economic, social and cultural development of individuals and societies has brought the digital divide phenomenon, which defines the inequalities in the access and use of these technologies to the agenda. In this study, it is aimed to examine the digital divide phenomenon and new media literacy in the context of rural and urban origin. Within the scope of the study, 9th grade students studying in a school in the central districts and in 3 schools in the rural districts of Istanbul were interviewed. In order to understand the following competencies of the students, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students: Access levels to new media; aims to use new media and their self-efficacy in using skills; skills to understand, analyze and evaluate new media messages and new media environment; production and participation in new media. In the study, the interviews were evaluated with the descriptive analysis method and the findings reached at the end of the study were included. Some differences were found between the two groups in terms of access, usage skills, and production. In both groups, it has been observed that students who live in an environment rich in new media tools, start using these technologies at an early age, and receive technical support and guidance from their families and social circles have high self-efficacy in new media usage skills. Students use new media for the purpose of obtaining information, socializing and having fun. It has been observed that the students in both groups approach the information and news in the new media with suspicion, and the students in both groups are conscious of the opportunities offered by the new media and the risks it carries.