Internet and Society in Latin America and the Caribbean

This situation of cultural exclusion points to the need for research into the social impact of the Internet within the cycles of cultural and economic production and consumption in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region in which we find, at the same time, the selective spread of the Internet, massive growth in the consumption of symbolic products or their messages via television, and steady imp [...] This initiative led to the selection10 within the region of eight research projects on the social impact of ICTs in four priority development areas: (1) education and culture, (2) democracy and citizenship, (3) law and justice, and (4) methodologies for evaluating the social impact of the Internet.11 All of these themes stress the problem of equity and the need to close the technological and socio [...] Under the third theme, entitled "Challenges in building a fair and equitable legal framework for the Internet in Latin America and the Caribbean", we consider the importance of reinforcing the "right to communication and culture" and "Internet rights", as a starting point for the strategic changes that are needed in the juridical frameworks of Latin America and the Caribbean consistent with the co [...] The instrumental view of technology and the construction of a new habitus for the flow of knowledge A common finding of researchers who have examined the social impact of the Internet on schools as well as on the notions of citizenship and governance is the predominant tendency to make use of this tool in a merely "instrumental" or "technical" way, thereby losing sight of its potential as a langua [...] Uca Silva shows how the web sites of the Chilean towns studied are used as a conduit for promoting the image of local leaders and in this way diluting the link between the municipal government and the citizenry, which should be strengthened by the introduction of ICTs (see Silva on "The relationship between the municipality and the community").