Reconciling Culture and Digital Literacy in the United Arab Emirates

Introduction

As we pass into the second decade of the third millennium the internet has proven to be one the most exceptional innovations to date, with the World Wide Web affecting cultural, social and economic sectors, in both the way we spend our daily lives and in the way we do business. It has brought a wealth of information to our fingertips while heavily improving our educational system in an organized, efficient and effective manner, as well as enhancing our interpersonal relationships. The strategic potential of the medium was recognized well over a decade ago by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) who stated:

Referring to the internet, Prensky (2001) makes the case that people seeking wisdom will need the use of digital technologies to provide them with unprecedented access to data, information, and knowledge from across the globe. Yet how one uses, filters, and eventually applies these resources will play an important role in the wisdom of their decisions and judgments (Skiba, 2010).

Though within the UAE widespread e-government services are available, there has been no systematic or widespread education of the general population on the use and benefits of internet usage in the country. Even though access to internet facilities is at a level comparative to both the US and UK (Figure 1 & Table 1) and is the highest in the Arab world (Figure 2) many of its citizens have thus failed to understand how to use the medium effectively (Jewels et al., 2009).

Figure 1.

Internet Access of selected countries (Source: http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=it_net_user_p2&idim=country:ARE&dl=en&hl=en&q=uae+internet+usage)

Figure 2.

Internet access of selected Middle East countries (Source: http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=it_net_user_p2&idim=country:ARE&dl=en&hl=en&q=uae+internet+usage)