Internet Currently Dominates the Academic Scene in Costa Rica.

According to a recent study, over 90% of young Costa Ricans are now using email as a natural mode of communication. Students aged between the ages of 21 to 24 were studied by a program of the University of Costa Rica called Prosic (Society Program of Information and Understanding).

It is understood that email in this instance is used to send and receive personal mail, communicate between friends and send and receive jokes. Prosic arrived at these figures through a survey that they conducted between May and December of 2007, and 4000 students took part in it, whether from private institutions and universities or public ones.

The study shows that students attending private universities have more access to recent modern information technology and communication, compared to those attending public establishments. The survey showed that those attending private universities are from families that enjoy higher standards of living and economical situations. While 80.7% of private students have access to computers in their universities, only 56.3% of those attending public enjoy the same advantages.

At home, the difference is even more pronounced and evident. About 76% of the students getting private education have access to the Internet at home, when only 29.7% of those attending public universities do so. For this very reason, the Internet Cafes have grown in popularity. Hundreds of students gather there to finish their homework and study for their exams. The ones coming from the humblest families, 44.5% of them, get connected in the cafes on a daily basis.

When questioned, the majority of the students agreed that internet provides an unlimited source of information, but that it has in some way played a big part in the way communication is loosing its importance within the family, and in turn this is how certain traditions are lost. Yet, one has to follow the flow, especially the youth, who find themselves in a world where the internet and the use of computers is a norm, as well as a necessity to find a place in society!

An estimated 80.6% of these students also use of cellular phones within the family circle, and this often stretches to one phone per person, in many cases. Today, cellular phones are yet another way to get connected to the Internet as well. With it, they can keep in touch with various members of their family and with friends, feeling more secure and less isolated.

According to the survey, only about 10% of students examined said they have no interest in the information technology and online communication; these respondents do not use emails nor do they have a cellular phone.

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on July 2nd, 2008