Participation is not ownership

Research shows, as indicated by the image of a slanted ladder, that by no means all users exhibit the same degree of participation on the Internet. For a long time, studies concentrated on the „digital divide“ within society: Who is „on“, and who isn’t? Hence the focus was on access to the Internet. Even today there are socio-demographic differences manifest in the use of the Internet, but now, increasingly, the question is no longer who is „on“, but what they do once they are there.

An overview of areas of participation on the Internet show that socio-economic characteristics impact on online participation. The age factor runs as a common thread through all areas. Younger users are more active than older users. In most cases this goes hand in hand with a greater experience of use and a higher subjective appreciation of personal competencies. It follows that younger users show greater openness to more complex forms of participation such as those that the join-in media permit than older users. Nevertheless it would be incorrect to claim that youth and participation are synonymous. A whole series of other factors exist – for instance political interest in the question of political participation, as this interest tends to increase with age.

Other factors such as gender and education show a variety of effects: In the field of educational participation, the level of education itself appears evidently unsuitable as a distinctive characteristic, as the starting situation remains the same. This is quite different in questions of health or political participation, where engagement increases parallel to education. The influence is murky in the area of cultural participation, as entertainment-oriented participation is obviously not driven by education.

Gender exerts a positive or negative influence on participation, depending on the area in question. Political engagement, for instance, appears to be a male preserve, while women dominate participation in education. It is clear that further studies and differentiations are necessary to identify the drivers behind, and barriers to, participation on the Internet. The differentiation applied here is a first step towards greater understanding. Others will follow.