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VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSELS

VUB

Advanced Methods of Theoretical Debates

Is Turkey an Equitable Information Society?

Essay

Senem Guneser

06 January 2014

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Is Turkey an Equitable Information Society?

Abstract

This paper will study how far Turkey has come to be an equitable information society. In

Turkey being a multicultural and multilingual country, differences have always been present

between the regions which has serious political and societal consequences. Kurdish and the

gender issues are one of the most important issues on the top of the agenda in the country.

For this reason, in this paper I will analyse data on the ICT usage in urban and rural areas as

well as in different regions of Turkey and see how far Turkey has come to be an equitable

information society. It is important to provide the opportunities of the ICT to the different

parts of the society in a way that all citizens are able to use the ICT`s effectively in their daily

life in order to eliminate the differences or minimize them.

In order to do this, it is important to ask how much ICT there is in this society and and how

far does this take us towards qualifying for information society status. What is information

society? And why is it so important to become an information society? How and does being

an information society overcome the inequalites and exclusions in the society?

Introduction

This paper is arranged in three parts. The first part comprises of an introduction where the

concept of an equitable information society is discussed. In the second part, a theoretical

approach where the theories of Manuel Castells and Frank Webster from the view of

equalities and exclusion are discussed. Then in the third part, I will study the data of Turkish

Statistical Institute (TUIK), interpret and analyse it. Lastly, in the fourth section I will draw

some conclusions from my analyis of the given data.

Theoretical Approach

Although there are many interrogative and sceptical views as to what information society is

among scholars, none would disagree with this concept of information society is that it is a

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society where the use, creation and distribution, integration and manipulation of information

is an economic, political and cultural activity.1

Information technology goes beyond computers and internet, and there are discussions about

how big the influence of specific media or specific modes of production really is.

The issue of ICT`s and their role in the new society have been tackled by many scholars

using different concepts. In this part however, I will discuss theories of Manuel Castells and

Frank Webster from the view of inequality and exclusion. First I will have a look at how both

thinkers define information society.

Information Society

Manuel Castells is one of the thinkers that used the concept of the network society. For

Castells, “Network society is a society whose social structure is made of networks powered

by microelectronics-based information and communication technologies.” (Castells, 2004,

p.1)

For Castells, getting a computer doesn`t change the world but how you use it actually

important is. You can use internet to exclude, you can exclude access to internet. It is a digital

device but it has the ability to process all the information, let it be cultural or educational.

This is what the elites of the world do, says Castells. Ngo`s, environment movements, and

other organizations organize themselves on the internet and use information technologies and

information systems to actually introduce counter trends to one logic of pure enstrumentality.

If we include no change, the same model of production and consumption that we have today the

50/60 % of the human kind is excluded. What Castells argues is that the information is not new,

but what is new is that the “action of knowledge upon knowledge itself” (Castells, 2000b, p.

17) is now the basis to increased productivity. He believes that with this level and model of

construction we destroy our planet and we can only survive on the basis of extreme

inequality. For Castells, (1990, p. 21) for communal identity to be a site of democratic

resistance communities must reach out and build network with other communities of other

cultures.

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_society; accessed on 01/01/2014

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Frank Webster, a well known critique of notion of information society introduces five

definitions of information society which presents criteria for identifying what the new about

society is. 1)technological, 2)economic, 3) occupational, 4) spatial, 5)cultural. These five

definitions all share, `the conviction that quantitative changes in information are bringing into

being a qualitatively new sort of social system, the information society. Each definition have

one in common: we have more information in today`s world so we live in an information

society.Where as the sixth (6) definition is not that there is more information today, but rather

the character of information is such as to have transformed how we live. (Webster, 2006, p9)

What Webster has commom with Castells` view is that the importance of information, and

the growing gap between those who can and who can`t access knowledge.

Unlike Castells, Webster rejects that the comtemparary era is a completely new era but rather

it is the continuation od the industrial age. Webster (2006) sees Castells more of a

technological determinist. According to Webster the mode of development influences social

relations, but is not determined by capitalism. 2 For Castells, the society is still capitalist

however information is the important feature in the society. This information has the central

importance in determining economic productivity. Castells claims that networks become a

“key feature of social morphology” (2000a, p. 5).

On the other hand Webster claims, “The pursuit of a quantitative measure of information

work disguises the possibility that the growth of certain types of information occupation may

have particularly important consequences for social life.”

According to Castells, power now rests in network society: “Power is redefined, but it does

not vanish. Nor the social struggles. Domination and resistance to domination change

according to the specific social structure from which they originate and which they modify by

their action.”(Castells, 2004, p. 36). So there is power that rules but there is also a counter-

powers struggle. Webster`s view on this is critical: “the logic of the network is more

powerful than the powers of the network” (Webster, 2002, p. 104).

2 http://www.geof.net/research/2005/castells-network-society accessed on 02/01/2014

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This new environment requires skilled flexible workers: the organization man gives way to

the flexible woman (Castells, 2000a, p. 12). This leads to a binary process of inclusion and

exclusion from the network. The people at the bottom are those who, with nothing to offer the

network, are excluded.

Castells says we live in a post-capitalist era with the feauture of informational mode of

development. However he stresses the ruling class no longer in control, it is networks that are

in power. For Webster , the capitalists remain in control. The ruling class has better access to

education, and dominant in the top managerial positions.3

In terms of culture of network society, “the network society develops in a multiplicity of

cultural settings, produced by the differential history of each context.” (Castells, 2000, p.38)

For Castells, specific cultural identities, individuals, collectives who refuse to fade away in

the logic of the dominant networks : “To be French becomes, again as relevant as to be a

citizen. To be Catalan, or Irish, or Basque, or Quebecois, or Kurd, or Tibetan, or Aymara

becomes a rallying point of self identification vis-a vis the domination of imposed nation-

states. “ (Castells, 2004, p.39)

In summary, Webster finds Castells technically determined and sees the contemparary society

as a continuity of the industrial era and not a completely new one. For Webster, it`s a

sytemic change: whether it is in the form of Bell`s `Post Industrialism`, Castells,

`Informational mode of development`. Furthermore Webster believes, “Information comes to

be a purely quantative measure of communicative exchanges”. (2006, p. 23). Webster claims

that there are social and economic consequences of the information society. According to

him, work will be transformed, education upturned, corparate structures revitalised,

democracy itself reassessed. (Webster, 2006, p. 5). Frank Webster argues that globalization

is accompanied by rising inequality and insecurity in the world. Castells argues that we

moved from industrial society to informational society- a network society where the society

is structured around the networks. Castells underlines the interrelationship of social,

economic and political factors of society and identifies the `network` as the key feature of

todays` epoch.

`Everybody must have access to a more equitable information society`, but the question is

how can you quarantee the right to information for all countries, for all regions and genders

alike? During the summit of World of Parliaments-International Organization for

Parliaments(IPU) in 2013 in Geneva parlamentarians from all around the world agreed to

move towards a more equitable information society yet they expressed some concerns how to

3 See http://www.geof.net/research/2005/castells-network-society accessed on 29/12/2013

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guarantee the right to information. 4 Some of the concerns that the representatives of the

citizens expressed were and still the issue are :

The difference between the people-the wealthy is equipped and have access to

internet. The poor cannot buy computers and get nothing from this information

society

A large part of the population is denied the information which others have. How can

we build an information society if they are marginalized?

When more information is publicly accessible to lobbies, interest groups and citizens-

how do you educate with all the materials on line ?

As we can see in today`s world creating an equitable information society where ICT`s are

widely used; infromation services are widely available for everybody, all genders and every

nation can fully benefit from it. This has been the goal of many policies in almost all

countries around the world.

Data and Interpretation

In this section I will have a look at the data provided by Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK),

Information And Communication Technology (ict) Usage Survey On Households And

Individuals- 2013 reseach . (The result of the research is published with a press release TUIK

No: 13569 on 22 August 2013).5

With this survey, I will have a look the data on following topics:

- ICT technologies in households

- Computer and Internet usage by individuals and male and female

-Internet (Households with Internet access, connection types, connected devices, Internet

usage and frequency by individuals and by female and male)

-Computer and internet usage in the regions

4 For more information see, http://www.ipu.org/news-e/13-3.htm accesed on 01/01/2014

5 According to TUIK, for the system of data collection, questionnaires are prepared based on model

questionnaire which prepared and recommended by EUROSTAT. Model questionnaires are adapted

to the conditions in Turkey and also regulated in accordance with national institutions’ needs.

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Concepts used in this survey:

Households: One person or group of persons with or without a family relationship who live in

the same house or in the same part of the house, who share their meals, earnings and

expenditures and who take part in the management of the household and who render services

to the household.

Urban: Settlements with a population of 20 001 and over.

Rural: Settlements with a population of 20 000 or less.

According to the TUIK scope of the Datais that all private households who are living in the

territory of Republic of Turkey are covered individuals, male and female aged 16-74 and

children aged 06-15 are covered.

Geographically, all settlements in Turkey have been covered in sample selection.

For data collection method, computer aided personel interview is used

Analysis

In Turkey, individuals aged 16-74 used once or more computer and Internet were % 49.9 and

% 48.9, respectively.(see Table1)

Those never used computers and Internet were %50.1 and %51.1. This was %41.0 and %42.0

in urban areas respectively and %70.5 and %71.4 in rural areas.(see Table1)

Males used more computer and Internet than females. Usage of computer and Internet by

males were %60.2 and %59.3 respectively, whereas female usage of one these technologies

were %39.8 and % 38.7 respectively. (see Table1)

When we look at the proportion of computer and Internet use in urban and rural areas: %59

and %58 in urban areas, and %29.5 and % 28.6 in rural areas. (see Table1)

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The percentage of computer and Internet use in different regions in Turkey showed great

differences. The highest proportion was in TR1 İstanbul with % 62.1 and % 61.4. This region

was followed by TR5 (Ankara, Konya Karaman) with %59.8 and %58.5 respectively. The

lowest was in TRB (Malatya, Elazig, Bingol, Dersim, Van, Mus, Bitlis, Hakkari) where

computer and Internet use were %31.8 and %31.0 respectively. (see Table2)

The highest proportions of female computer and Internet usage in the regions were TR1

Istanbul; %53.7 and %52.8 whereas male usage were almost the double of female usage of

the ICT`s; %70.0 and %69.5. TRB (Malatya, Elazig, Bingol, Dersim, Van, Mus, Bitlis,

Hakkari) region was the lowest in terms of female usage of ICT`s. Only %19.5 female used

computer and only %18.8 used internet whereas the proportion of male users of the ICT`s

were much higher: %45.0 and %44.1. (see Table2)

According to the results of TUIK ICT Usage Survey in Households and Individuals carried

out in April, 2013, 49.1 per cent of households have access to the Internet at home. It was

%47.2 in April, 2012. (see Table4)

Percentage of households with access to the Internet was %57.4 in urban areas and %29.1 in

rural areas. According to SR Level1, percentages of households with access to the Internet in

TR1 İstanbul (%63.3), TR2 (Istanbul, Tekirdag, Edirne, Kirklareli, Balikkesir, Canakkale)

(%58.8), TR4 (Bursa, Eskisehir, Bilecik, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Duzce, Bolu, Yalova) (%56.8),

TR5 (Ankara, Konya, Karaman) (%52.4) were above the average of Turkey. (see Table4)

In January-March of 2013, %39.5 of all individuals aged 16-74 used the Internet almost every

day or at least once a week (regularly Internet use). Proportion of regular Internet users were

%92.6 in urban area, %86.7 in rural area and %96.1 in TR1 İstanbul by SR Level1(according

to the statistical regions(SR) table6 SR Level1 is the western part of the country). (see

Table13)

In April, 2013, %46.5 of households had broadband connection. ADSL was used to access

the Internet %32.2 of all households and %65.6 of households with Internet access. 3G were

6 For more information see the Statistical Regions(SR) table on

http://www.tuik.gov.tr/MicroVeri/GYKA_2011/english/images/explanation_method_2011.jpg accessed on 01/01/2014

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used to access the Internet %20.1 of all households and %41 of households with Internet

access.(see Table7)

Conclusion

The question of whether a country is an equitable information society or not, does not provide

us with a straightforward answer. Looking at the country statistics in Turkey above in the

light of the Castells theory on network society, knowledge of technology, information, and

access to networks are highly significant and the uneven development in technology leads to

'social polarization and social exclusion'. In terms of an equitable information society,

statistics shows us that there is a great gap between the urban(west) and the rural(east) of the

country, where the majority of its inhabitants are Kurdish. Therefore Kurds living in east and

south eastern regions (many also live in the urban(west and is not in the scope of our

research)) of the country do not have equal access to ICT`s and thus excluded from

opportunities provided by the ICT`s. The same conclusion can be made for females. In terms

of female ICT`s usage there is more inequality in the rural. In the rural areas(east and south

east regions of Turkey) less women compare to men take advantage of the ICT`s. To wrap up

we can say that a large part of the population is denied the information which others have in

Turkey. The question is that how can you build an information society if they are

marginalized?

References

Webster, F. (2006) Theories of the Information Society (3th edition), Sage Publications,

Chapter 1 & 2, pp. 1-31.

Webster, F. (2006) Theories of the Information Society (3th edition), Sage Publications,

Chapter 3. Post-Industrial Society: Daniel Bell, pp. 32-59.

Perez, C. (2009) Technological Revolutions and Techno-Economic Paradigms. TOC/TUT

Working Paper, 20. Online at www.carlotaperez.org

Duff, A. (2000) Information Society Studies. Routledge. Chapter 2. Information Sector

Version of the Information Society Thesis, pp.19-71.

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Castells, M. (2004) Informationalism. Networks, and the Network Society: A Theoretical

Blueprint. In: Castells, M. (ed.) The Network Society. A cross-cultural perspective.

Cheltanham: Edward Elgar, pp. 3-48.

Hassan, R. (2008) The information Society. Polity. Chapter 6. Faster and Faster, pp. 159-189.

Tomlinson, J. (2007) The Culture of Speed. The Coming of Immediacy. Sage Publications.

Chapters 3-5, pp. 44-123.

Castells, M. (2009) Communication Power. Oxford University Press. Chapter 2.

Communication in the Digital Age, pp. 54-136.

Turkish Statistical Institute-TUIK http://www.turkstat.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=13569

accessed on 01/01/2014

International Organization of Parliaments http://www.ipu.org/news-e/13-3.htm accessed on

01/01/2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_society; accessed on 01/01/2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Information_Age:_Economy,_Society_and_Culture accessed on

01/01/2014

Manuel Castells` Network Society http://www.geof.net/research/2005/castells-network-

society accessed on 30/12/2013