Social Change instigated by ICT for Development. Laptop Usage stimulates Cultural Change among Children in the Developing World

Over the past five years, laptops were introduced in developing countries with the aim of improving children's educational prospects and outcomes. We anticipated one unintended side-effect of these programs: cultural and social change. A longitudinal survey was conducted among 1,200 Ethiopian children to investigate the cognitive and cultural impacts of the “one laptop per child” (OLPC) initiative. In a quasi-experimental design, we compared children who were given a laptop (without internet access at the time of the study) with children from matched control schools for two school years. Results showed that laptop use was associated with an amplified sense of individuality and agency: there was evidence of growth in children’s ability to reflect independently (e.g., abstract reasoning), more independent self-construal, amplification of ‘modern’ individualist values and a greater endorsement of gender equality. There was no evidence of a simultaneous erosion of traditional cultural values. Additional evidence suggested that these changes occurred not because of the ownership of a valuable object, but because of children’s use of the technology itself, in particular through the role that technology had played in social interactions: the ‘sharing’ of laptops with friends and family. Results are discussed in relation to the ideals of the OLPC initiative and the influence of technology on culture.

Reference:

Hansen, N., Koudenburg, N., Hiersemann, R., Tellegen, P., Kocsev, M., & Postmes, T. (2012). Laptop usage affects abstract reasoning of children in the developing world. Computers & Education, 59, 989–1000. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.04.013

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Roy Huijsmans