Comunicar 39-ingles - Revista Comunicar

37ve computer technology to meet the educational requirementsof the deprived, displaced and remotely located,economically weaker population to overcome thecurrent iceberg and enable a breakthrough in the community-buildingmechanisms of the internet (Quebral,1975).However, it is thus important to differentiate be -tween digital divide as a theory, and repercussions of itsprevalence as a technological problem between thosewho do and those who do not have physical access.The significance of this divide is its bipolar explanationto internet access, where the Internet is a perquisitefor overcoming inequalityin a society which dominantfunctions and socialgroups are increasingly organizedaround the Internet (VanDijk, 2005).As such, the researchattempts to set the parametersof the possible effects of theuse of media information andliteracy to stipulate critical participationin an independentway within a shared domain inwhich issues could be engaged(Habermas, 1991).To serve that goal, someof the key clues and indicatorsof media and information literacyare discussed, then thefindings of a pilot study is evaluatedof a sample of younglearners in South Africa.Though findings cannot be generalized, the researchmight help provide some indicators on how informationand media literacy stand and how these communitiesoperate and how the youth perceive the relatedchallenges.2. Literature reviewA critical goal of the study was to evaluate howICT can enhance information literacy among theyounger generations as a result of its possibility to offerunlimited from which democracy in the larger societycan be engendered and/or reinvigorated.History must be weighed very carefully to reassessthe earlier projections of its impact as developingsocieties were too optimistic about the endless possibilitiesfor communication and networking prospects(Castells, 2002).In this section, the researcher aims to identify someThe MIL curriculum, developed by UNESCO, defines theessential competencies and skills needed to equip citizens toengage with media and information systems effectively andto develop critical thinking and life-long learning skills tosocialize and become active citizens. However, the prospectsand concerns of such models are directly affected byrestricted budgets, as well as the absence of qualified teachers,training for the trainers and the induction of mediaand information literacy into the curricula, all of whichremain essential elements for any social development.of the trends and developments within the literatureon the subject matter in Africa, especially in SouthAfrica.A departure point is to acknowledge the close connectionbetween social and economic advancementon one hand, and the media and information literacycreation, dissemination, and utilization on the otherhand (Baliamoune, 2003).Internet penetration rates in1997 in North Americawere (267) times greater than in Africa. Three yearslater, i.e., by October 2000, the gap had grown to amultiple of 540. Africa (14.1%) of the world populationhas only an estimated (2.6%) of the world Internetusers.Until March 2006, only three countries of Africa’s(57) countries (54 official and three non-official states)had an access rate higher than the worldwide internetusage rate of (15.7%) including the Reunion (25.3%),Saint Helena (20.4%), & Seychelles (23.8%) (Fuchs &Horak, 2008).As such, media and information literacy in Africawas very slow and was severely delayed as a result ofthe limited infrastructure, lack of local content and theoverall low-income levels.Communities can only be empowered when theybecome able to take control of their local knowledgemanagement disparities and target the groups that aremost marginalized (Fuchs and Horak, 2008).According to Mundy and Sultan information is useful«only if it is available, if the users have access to it, inComunicar, 39, XX, 2012© ISSN: 1134-3478 • e-ISSN: 1988-3293 • Pages 35-43