Digital Illiteracy among Smartphone Puerto Rican Middle Class Users

Digital Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo mmo@rubberbandpr.com, asg@rubberbandpr.com May 16, 2013, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Prepared for delivery at 2013 SME Digital Forum, San Juan, Puerto Rico May 16, 2013 Mobile Telephony in the Developing World, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland, May 24 - 25, 2013 LASA 2013 – XXXI INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS, Towards a New Social Contract?

Washington, D.C., United States, May 29 – June 1, 2013 Track: ECONOMICS AND DEVELOPMENT Session: Aspects of Poverty and Income Distribution

1

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Authors acknowledge: Bijan Aryana, PhD research fellow of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology/ Department of Product Design and Prof. Lily Diaz-Kommonen, Head of Research, Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Finland, for generously offering their researches; Karen Larson Marazzi, Senior Vice President of Critical Hub Networks, Laura Homar, producer and co-host of Tecnético radio show and educational consultant Dr.Jossie O’Neill for their critical reading; and lastly, Jose Nelson Ramírez, for his editorial services and insightful comments.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

María de Mater O’Neill is a candidate for a Doctorate in Design Practice from the School of Design, Northumbria University, UK. Arthur Asseo is a candidate for a MA on the History of Decorative Arts from Smithsonian-George Mason University, Washington, DC., US. Both are senior partners of the transformation design studio Rubberband, LLP.

2

Digital Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

ABSTRACT

The author’s design firm launched a limited inquiry concerning comprehension and use of Smartphone in middle class users in Puerto Rico upon detecting an apparent level of illiteracy in digital functions in various projects developed for their clients. The inquiry primarily aimed to answer if these users are exposed to social exclusion because of their lack of comprehension of digital interaction. If such were true, what does it imply in the social contract? Four instances in the firm’s projects that revealed the incongruence in the use of Smartphone, which prompted the authors’ inquiry, are described briefly. Structured interviews were done to local User Experience (UX) designers as well as an online anonymous questionnaire survey about the use of Smartphone. Through a scenario test the authors highlight the digital literacy of a limited group of users. The paper focuses on issues of digital literacy but discusses some aspects of the digital divide to contextualize the study. Research concerning cultural differences and mobile affordance in Iran is used to explore another perspective on the subject of use and comprehension of Smartphones. The authors understand that digital illiteracy poses a problematic situation because of: 1) the relationship between citizen rights and digital literacy, 2) the impact it can have with 21st century necessary skills like co-location teamwork, quick access to information and content creation, among other technology inter-relationship activities, and 3) the importance of this matter to UX designers and their awareness of this possible situated occurrence, especially if they are value-driven and concerned with issues of democracy. Further research in the Caribbean is needed to understand the cultural dissonance in the HCI design and its impact on Functional Digital Literacy (one of the three strands needed for critical transferring).

KEYWORDS

digital illiteracy, UX design, new literacies, new media literacies, digital divide, Smartphones

3

1.0 THE INQUIRY Introduction This paper responds to an unusual behavior that the authors encountered in their design practice concerning digital applications. The design firm started to detect what seemed to be a high level of digital illiteracy in the use of Smartphones among the end-users of their projects. After coming across with similar situations in four projects for different clients they found it to be intriguing (see section: 1.1). Both the clients and the end-users owned Smartphones and capable computers but their understanding and interaction with mobile devices was limited.

This paper presents the inquiry done from July 2012 to January 2013 by Rubberband, LLP, the author’s transformation design firm with their main operations in Puerto Rico, to address the behavior first observed in the practice. The inquiry was done through qualitative studies and with a user experience approach; a combination commonly used in the design firm’s user-centered and contextual research projects. The authors have found that such combination often articulates insightful findings on the beliefs, habits, and perceptions of the users in context to their actions. The contextual research included secondary quantitative literature review.

Although clients and users may have the most recent iPhone or Android devices, they use the devices almost exclusively for

4

Digital Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

voice calls and SMS text messaging. Another observation was that clients and their users, regardless of age or gender, kept quiet about their level of Smartphone literacy. The users that were observed were educated professionals that participated in user-tests as part of Rubberband, LLP’s projects. They ranged in age from 30 to 50, with middle and high income levels.

This apparent digital illiteracy among the design firm’s clients and their users could not be explained by the digital divide concept. Thus it prompted an initial research (see section: 1.2) in order to identify or define possible causes for this conundrum.

What follows is a step by step brief of Rubberband, LLP’s inquiry. It should be noted that the inquiry presented here was done with a limited sample of methods; therefore, these findings should be treated with caution. The inquiry was meant to provide some reflection of the social-political consequences of the techno-cultural phenomena that is the empirically observed illiterate behavior. The authors would like to indicate to non-design readers, that there are standards in the design practice used by mobile application designers such as the Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0 from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The authors of this paper understand that the aforementioned behavior is due to the fact that the design of the mobile devices that rule the global market are made from a central viewpoint and do not consider the social-cultural perspective of peripheral nations.

1.1. THE FOUR CASES “My phone is not smart; the [explicit] doesn’t talk to me.”

User’s response to the authors during the inquiry.

The following are brief descriptions of the four instances in which the authors detected incongruence in the use of

5

Smartphones thus prompting the inquiry. The first one is not directly related to the use of Smartphones but it is related to digital literacy.

The studio was assigned to design an administration (admin) panel for an art event through which images could be uploaded.

Artists were supposed to be able to upload images with a short description on a daily basis. The client had a tight budget therefore the website’s admin panel was built using a Patchwork Prototyping method (using open system or third party technology; a term used by Jones, Floyd, and Twidale, 2007). Artists did not follow instructions regardless that those instructions were given in plain language on the actual upload page and the third party software used was of mainstream use in the region. Most of the artists, both from the Caribbean and Latin America, made the same error when uploading an image despite the high affordance of the website, designed by Rubberband, LLP following the W3C’s Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0. The design firm found this to be unusual since many of them were video artists born in the 1980s. Rubberband, LLP’s staff had the expectations that the users were familiar with digital technology. No considerations of cultural habits were part of the design approach.

The second scenario is concerned with a mobile cultural probe that the firm developed for a contextual research project where patients were asked to evaluate the office services of their doctor. The probe failed to engage the patients’ participation.

When the patients were asked about it, they commented that they needed help from a family member because they did not know how to execute the tasks requested (despite that instructions were offered on a flyer and assistance had been previously offered by the designers’ assistants). The authors thought wrongly then that the reason for this was a matter of the demographic, which was mostly made up of patients over

6

Digital Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

50 years old. Later, on other projects, the firm has encountered high digital literacy on clients over 70 years old.

The third scenario emerged when designing a website and Web application for a film director and her production company. Rubberband, LLP customized a Web application that incorporated all of the client’s social media accounts and website maintenance into one admin panel adapted to the way she uses her iPhone and iPad. Although the client manages high tech equipment in her filmmaking practice she was not familiar with her mobile devices except when making voice calls and recording short videos with her iPad. The fourth scenario involved the mobile version of a website that was created using extensive user-centered/experience design methods with sales representatives. Once again the design firm encountered the same situation; although the users had the most recent models of any particular Smartphone they were not familiar with its ‘smart’ features.

The last two scenarios dealt with professional men and women, from a 30 to 50 year old age range and many of them with graduate studies. ‘The majority of people that have communication and information services do not know how to use such technological innovations’ (Bernilla Rodríguez, 2011).

Following these experiences the authors decided to review literature on the subject of digital illiteracy and the use of Smartphones to understand if what they had witnessed was detected by others.

1.2. PRELIMINARY RESEARCH (secondary sources) 1.2.1 Smartphone use in the Caribbean and Latin America There are 3.1 millions mobile phones in Puerto Rico according to a 2013 research done by Estudios Técnicos de Puerto Rico

7

(Technical Studies of Puerto Rico) for Asociación de Ejecutivos de ventas y Mercadeo de Puerto Rico (Rodríguez Báez et al.,2013).

The total population of the Island is 3.7 million according to the United States Census Bureau (2010). 78% of these mobile phones were Smartphones (SME,2013). Research findings determined that users paid for long distance, text messaging and phone insurance but not necessarily for Internet access (Grafal, 2012). Currently it is expected that by the end of 2014, 32% of the new phones in Latin America will be Smartphones (Anon, 2010).

Another study from Zokem and the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), supports the previously mentioned facts since the behavior is similar to other Latin American and Caribbean countries: ‘ text messaging still being the number one [activity], but it is closely followed by the time they spend using applications of all kinds [...] the use of Web browsing is on fourth level with 37% below of the third level, which is the original use of the phone, i.e., for talking ’ (Anon, 2011). In comparison, in the United States 65% of Web searches were initiated from a Smartphone in contrast to 29% that were done from a personal computer. Other statistics from the Google’s study Think with Google (2012, pp.20-21) show the high percentage of many online activities in the United States that are now done from Smartphone: • Social networking (66%) • Online shopping (65%) • Browsing the Internet (63%) • Managing finance (59%) • Watching video (56%) • Planning a trip (47%).

Data from studies such as the one already cited, done by Google, show that the United States are embracing a meaningmaking practice regarding its digital behavior. The authors find

8

Digital Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

that Puerto Ricans, as citizens of the United States, might be falling behind in developing digital meaning-making lifestyles.

Nonetheless, the authors acknowledge that the data of Smartphone use in the United States cited in this paper is too broad to make a vis-à-vis comparison with Puerto Rico. To do so further research is needed on Smartphone usage on counties of the United States that are similar to the demographics of Puerto Rico. During the process of this inquiry the authors found that there is a lack of studies contextualized to the experience of local Smartphone users and that take into account cultural differences that may affect user behavior and as a consequence the use of technology. The lack of cultural considerations in the design of mobile devices will be discussed more in depth further in this paper.

A mixed comparison of various studies on digital communications in Puerto Rico from 2012 done by Puerto Rican institutions, gives a better understanding of local users’ activities with mobile Web 2.0 devices. One concerning broadband connectivity states that 40% (1.14 million adults) report accessing the Internet via mobile broadband (mobile phones, tablets and laptops) (Connect Puerto Rico, 2012, p.5).

Digital & Mobile Behavioral Study (Rodríguez Báez et al., 2012, 2013) reported an increase from 57% to 70% of users access the Web by their mobile phones. It should be noted that in an unrelated study it was found that only 28% of users connect to the Internet by their mobile phone every day, ‘in comparison [to] 55% of all US’ (Connect Puerto Rico, 2012, p.10). There has been an increase in Internet access but broadband connectivity is still low compared to 70% in the United States (Vega Alvarado, 2011). According to Raquel Noriega, director of Connect Nation, the barriers are ‘relevance, affordability and digital skills’ (Vega Alvarado, 2011).

9

Three reasons for low Web browsing activity from mobile phones in Latin America and the Caribbean regions are: ‘(1) The lack of high-speed mobile networks.

(2) The limited amount of compatible phones with these services.

(3) Prices for unlimited use of Web services’ (Anon, 2010).

Again these reasons do not consider what may well be user’s cultural preferences, for example: face to face meetings versus online meetings, discussed further in the scenario (storytelling) test part of the inquiry (section 2.2.3).

1.2.2. Theoretical Framework: Digital Divide, Digital Illiteracy and Literacy This paper addresses digital illiteracy among users that are not affected by the economic and educational aspect of the digital divide, meaning that they are not excluded from digital citizenship because they cannot afford it or do not have the educational skills to understand it. As mentioned earlier, one of the questions from the inquiry that the authors aimed to answer was if middle class users, because of undefined factors, are on the road to social exclusion because of their digital illiteracy. Similar issues were detected by Connect Puerto Rico’s 2012 research: ‘Non-adopters [users that do not have home broadband service] who are price-sensitive report higher rates of technology ownership and usage, and are more likely to be younger, have children, be employed, have higher educational attainment, and higher incomes, perhaps indicating that non-adopters who are not price sensitive have digital literacy or relevance issues [emphasized by the authors] that act as barriers to broadband adoption’ (Connect Puerto Rico, 2012, p.26).

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 10 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

Digital Divide The digital divide is a term that refers to the exclusion and inclusion on the realm of technology by gender and economy, among other social factors. ‘The issue is that the digital gap, although they seem technological, are rather social gaps.

The digital divide is mixed with other factors of exclusion, as the economic capacity, the availability of time, knowledge, skills and experience, the cultural background and language [emphasized by the authors]’ (Castaño, 2008, p. 17).

The digital divide can be understood in two levels (Pineda, 2012): 1. Access to technology - its affordability, accessibility and availability.

2. Its use and appropriation - meaning the depths and the quality of uses of new technologies.

Another definition describes that the digital divide consists of three features (Martínez, 2011): 1. The country’s infrastructure.

2. The cost of service.

3. The comprehension of technology.

The comprehension of technology, its use and appropriation are the author’s focus because they relate to digital illiteracy regardless of gender, education and income of the user. One of the lessons learned during this inquiry was the not so evident fact on how compression of technology, as it is with any literacy activity, is strongly situated (attached to users’ habits, motivations and beliefs). Comprehension also depends on how designers and the mobile market have standardized mobile interfaces.

In the case of Puerto Rico, the digital divide problem is evident by the fact that ‘half of the households do not have a computer,

11

a 38% of rural population have no broadband or don’t know where it is available, and 90% of households’ speed connectivity is lower than the national standard’ (Communications Workers of America and Connect Puerto Rico cited in Ruiz Morales, 2011).

Digital Illiteracy Although the digital divide is related to digital illiteracy, the ON DIGITAL LITERACY &

latter is not caused necessarily by social economic factors.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

Digital lliteracy is closer to Executive Functions (metacognitive

DIGITAL LLITERACY IS CLOSER

skills) or how the user comprehends, organizes, executes,

TO EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

generates and accesses content in the digital realm either

(METACOGNITIVE SKILLS) OR

by the Internet, mobile devices or other digital artifacts that

HOW THE USER COMPREHENDS,

allow sharing, networking and interaction in co-location

ORGANIZES, EXECUTES,

communities. It is closer to how the user constructs new

GENERATES AND ACCESSES

knowledge (learning) through semiotics (icons, layout, sound

CONTENT IN THE DIGITAL REALM

and other design elements), technology and how culture is

EITHER BY THE INTERNET, MOBILE

inferred on the latter.

DEVICES OR OTHER DIGITAL

‘The technical stuff of new literacies is part and parcel of

ARTIFACTS THAT ALLOW SHARING,

generating, communicating, and negotiating encoded

NETWORKING AND INTERACTION

meanings by providing a range of new or more widely

IN CO-LOCATION COMMUNITIES.

accessible resource possibilities (“affordances”) for making meaning. The technical dimensions of digital technologies greatly enlarge ways of generating encoded meanings available to people in comparison with what we might call conventional literacies’ (Lankshear and Knobel, 2012, p.51).

Digital literacy, as its regular counterpart, literacy, is a social phenomenon, more than just the mechanical skill of writing and reading. Both are understood in situated contexts, on how users process and negotiate meanings. In the case of digital literacy there is the potential of the ‘technologically mediated [emphasized by the authors] collaborative problem solving’ (Gee Paul, 2009, p.21). Social technology and mobile devices

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 12 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

such as Smartphones are digital tools that are ‘changing the balance: [..] Of production and consumption in media [..] Of participation and spectatorship [..] Of groups, social formations, and power’ (Gee Paul, 2009, p.20).

Literacy and Technology Literacy has several definitions that have changed through time. Many of the definitions divide literacy in different domains (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, and Cammack, 2004), but all the definitions agree that literacy is the high level thinking needed for an individual in a society to become a citizen in a community.

The authors acknowledge the more standard definition of literacy: ‘[The] conventional literacy, which relates to a person’s ability to read, write, and comprehend texts’ (Betsy Feist Resources and Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy, 2007, p.2). Nevertheless, the authors adopt the following definition in order to frame their inquiry: ‘ […] [literacy] is the possession of skills perceived as necessary by particular persons and groups to fulfill their own self determined objectives as family and community members, citizens, consumers, job hunters, and members of social, religious, and other associations of their own choosing’ (Betsy Feist Resources and Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy, 2007, p.2).

The New Literacies Perspective is a term that is concerned with technology and education. It is a framework of nine social principles related to educational issues. The authors drew the ones concerned with the topic of this paper to add to their analytic framework. Those are (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, and Cammack, 2004):

13

1. ‘New literacies are deictic’ – It is situated, always changing because of the user and context.

2. ‘The relationship between literacy and technology is transactional’ – Because literacy and technology are dynamic, there is a constant negotiation and influence on both domains.

3. ‘New literacies are multiple in nature’ – Each is situated (multiliteracies, New London Group, 1996), constructed and engaged to a domain, i.e. business literacy, social networking literacy, software literacy, among others including critical literacy; they all interact with each other.

4. ‘Critical literacies are central to the new literacies’ – The importance to understand the meaning in a contextual domain where encoded messages are generated.

5. ‘New forms of strategic knowledge are central to the new literacies’ – Executive Functions skills in accessing, rearranging, organizing, editing, intervening and generating information and communication applied to digital means.

Also it has to do with multimodality, ‘an understanding of different modes of communication (visual, acoustic, spatial) working together without one being dominant’ (Rowsell and Burke, 2009, p.106).

6. ‘Speed counts in important ways within the new literacies’ – Related to the digital divide, (access to better connectivity) but also the way it is designed (affordance), which prompts rapid intelligibility. Technology and the global economy have sped up working operations putting a strain on other social domains.

7. ‘Learning often is socially constructed within new literacies’ – Authors note that in the early years of the Gutenberg era, reading was a collective action. It was therefore, spoken word, not as it is now where reading a book is a silent and individual activity. Information and communication technology have prompted again such collective behavior as users become more a participant Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 14 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

and less of a spectator. Also, ‘human knowledge is initially developed as part and parcel of collaborative interactions with others of diverse skills, backgrounds, and perspectives’ (New London Group, 1996, p.82).

ON DIGITAL LITERACY & THE AUTHORS’ DEFINITION DIGITAL LITERACY MEANS HAVING THE SKILLS OF A MEANING-MAKING PRACTICE THAT CAN BE CRITICALLY TRANSFERRED TO OTHER SOCIAL DOMAINS THROUGH DIGITAL COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY.

Author’s definition of Digital Literacy As a summary, digital literacy in this inquiry is the metalanguage of multiliteracies, which is having the skills of a meaning-making practice that can be critically transferred to other social domains through digital communication technology. Metalanguage is the language used to analyze a particular language, in this case, the digital language. The authors propose that digital literacy has two main components: A. The ability to “read” the design elements to do a given task (for example, the semiotic applied to the interface of the mobile device).

B. The comprehension of the meanings of actions done through digital communication technologies (consequences and responsibilities of a digital citizen).

Having digital literacy allows the user to produce, adapt and modify their situated technology.

1.2.3. (An)other Perspective - Cultural Approach: The Case of Iran and India As part of the inquiry, the authors requested related researches from an online mailing list of design scholars. The following is a review of an Iranian research sent to the authors.

In 2010-11 authors Bijan Aryana, Casper Boks and Azadeh Navabi embarked on a study concerning cultural differences and mobile affordance among middle and high income users in Iran and Turkey with the support of a large global manufacturer of mobile communication devices. They were complied to do it because ‘too (often) non-western and developing countries;

15

global producers would face new challenges, as they are experiencing new situations which they did not meet before in regions such as Europe and North America’ (Aryana and Boks, 2010, p.139). Their findings were that users ran into usability problems not necessarily because of user’s digital illiteracy but due to cultural differences that translated to different activities in the use of mobile devices. As mentioned earlier, the authors of this paper understand that this is mostly due to the fact that ON DIGITAL LITERACY &

the design of the mobile devices that rule the global market

CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

are made from a central viewpoint and do not consider the

THE DESIGN OF THE MOBILE

perspective of peripheral nations. Aryana, Boks and Navabi

DEVICES THAT RULE THE GLOBAL

claim that some of these mobile design standards are not

MARKET ARE MADE FROM A

coherent with the cultural digital behavior of Iranian and Turkish

CENTRAL VIEWPOINT AND DO NOT

users, thus prompting them to fail. For example, they claim that

CONSIDER THE PERSPECTIVE OF

the failure of Iranian users to locate the forwarding option in a

PERIPHERAL NATIONS.

SMS application is due to cultural differences.

Their research used a cultural analysis model: Christian Rose (2004), which combines Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (1980) and Aaron Marcus’ website mapping (2002). The authors see the use of Hofstede’s binary approach as very problematic because of its use of hard categories, such as masculine and feminine traits. As social constructs, those traits are fluid concepts. There are other alternative models less categorical from psychologists like Triandis (1994), Trompenars (1993) and Friske (1992). Another example with a different approach, sent to the authors, is the study of a young woman from an urban slum in the city of Bangalore, India, the study uses a Complex Adaptive Systems (Juarrero, 2000) framework to ‘understand the intricate relation between the users and technology’ (Sayed et al.,2010). This study analyses her use of multiple mobile phones as a seamless system integrated with the cultural habits of her community concerning gender. The theme of gender and security in Puerto Rico concerning cellular use can

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 16 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

be found at Cellular telephony: the transformation of daily life and subjectivity (Telefonía celular: la transformación de la vida cotidiana y la subjetividad, Social Science Faculty, University of Puerto Rico, 2006). Nevertheless it is quite interesting how Aryana, Boks and Navabi made a mapping of the standard mobile options with Hofstede’s five dimensions. These are (Hofstede, 1980): 1. Power Distance (‘accept and expect that power is distributed unequally’).

2. Collectivism/Individualism.

3. Masculinity/Femininity.

4. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (‘society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity’).

5. Long-Term (‘thrift and perseverance’)/Short-Term Orientation (‘respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations’).

As their Puerto Rican counterparts, Iranians used their phone primarily for calls and text messaging, the latter ‘as a social networking tool’ (Aryana, Boks and Navabi, 2011, p.182) or a ‘technosocial tethering’ (Ito, 2006, p.1). Their findings are explained by Hofstede’s collectivism dimension: ‘[..] forwarding the messages is a common habit in SMS social networking, the forward function is just accessible by keeping the finger on a message for few seconds, and it is not available by a single touch or using the options button. Therefore none of the participants were able to forward a message during their first experience with the Smartphone, and other SMS related functions were more accessible. Apparently, the forward function was considered as a function which is not going to be used frequently by users. [..] Iranians users often prefer a kind of group SMS communication instead of pair communication. This can be related to some cultural specifications such as [Hofstede] collectivism’ (Aryana, Boks and Navabi, 2011, p.183).

17

Aryana, Boks and Navabi also they make note of Iran’s government censorship on social networks: ‘[..] some participants who mentioned SMS social networking in their self documentation reports, referred to Iran’s government restrictions for social networking websites as a possible reason for this behavior’ (p.184).

The authors agreed with the intentions of the Iranian and Turkish researchers because like them, they are also peripheral designers, in their case, working in the Caribbean. There is a need for designers to consider cultural factors, among other situated domains, because of what Henri Lefebvre identified as the code in ‘spaces of representation’ (1974) – encoding behavior of resistance in his triad framework of how space (digital included) holds a power discourse. The transformation of the user as a non-design designer (Chen, 2008) with its mobile device (with the ability to hack activities, create opensource applications and personalize devices, among other) is also part of the digital literacy domain: ‘Individuals who use new technologies often envision new ways of using them and, in their envisionments, change the nature of literacy (Leu, Karchmer & Leu, 1999).

Envisionments take place when individuals imagine new possibilities for literacy and learning, transform existing technologies to construct this vision, and then share their work with others’ (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, and Cammack, 2004).

1.2.4. Preliminary Research Findings Authors confirmed from secondary research that there is a digital divide situation in Puerto Rico, as well as in the Caribbean region. As already mentioned, Digital Divide refers to the exclusion and inclusion of the technology realm for reasons of gender and economy, among other social factors.

‘According to NTIA’s National Broadband Map, less than half Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 18 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

of Puerto Ricans have access to basic broadband service, which consumers increasingly need to apply for and get a job, access valuable education and healthcare information, and participate in today’s digital economy’ (Gomez, 2011).

The behavior concerning Smartphone use is similar with Latin American counterparts. Nevertheless, the inquiry conducted by the authors for this paper focused on Digital Illiteracy which contemplates the users’ skills to lead a meaning-making practice that can be critically transferred to other social domains through digital communication technology. In other words, the ability to “read” the content accessed through a Smartphone and comprehend the actions executed through the device. The authors did not find recent contextual research or user experience studies focused on the use of mobile devices in Puerto Rico or the Caribbean region.

19

2.0 THE AUTHOR’S RESEARCH 2.1. PRELIMINARIES 2.1.1. Methodology After the review of secondary sources on the subject of digital literacy and digital divide discussed in the previous sections, the authors decided to conduct a small scale triangulated inquiry about the techno-social phenomenon that is digital illiteracy among educated middle class Smartphone users in Puerto Rico. As mentioned in the introduction the inquiry was done through qualitative studies and with a user experience approach since the authors have found that such a combination often articulates insightful findings on the beliefs, habits, and perceptions of the users in context to their actions. The methodology consisted of:

1. An online questionnaire (section 2.2.1).

2. Semi structured interviews to local UX designers

(section 2.2.2).

3. A scenario (storytelling) test (section 2.2.3).

The two main questions of the inquiry were: • Are educated middle class users, because of undefined factors, on the road to social exclusion because of their lack of digital interaction comprehension?

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 20 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

• If such is true, what does this imply in the social contract?

2.1.2. Limitations and Scope The authors are aware of the limited scope of the inquiry therefore, they stress that the findings not be taken as definitive conclusions of Smartphone use in Puerto Rico. The authors were careful to have a minimum of fifteen participants (using Jacob Nielsen’s recommendation of numerous small usability tests, 1993) in both the online questionnaire and the scenario test as a better use of limited resources. The number of participants over the course of the inquiry was 49.

2.1.3. Objectives The main objective of this inquiry is to offer some understanding of digital illiteracy and the social-political consequences of the techno-cultural phenomena that it represents in a digital society in the Caribbean. There are studies about the social impact of mobile phones in other countries (Rheingold 2002; Katz and Aakhus 2002; Ito 2005; Campbell and Jin Park 2008; among others) but not for Puerto Rico. This is a problematic issue for the authors because of their understanding of: 1) The relationship between citizen rights with digital literacy.

2) The impact it might have with needed 21st century skills like co-location team working, rapid information access and content generation, among other technological inter relationship activities.

3) The importance of this matter to User Experience (UX) designers and his/her awareness of this possible occurrence, especially if they are value-driven and concerned with issues of democracy.

21

2.1.4. Criteria The authors highlighted the Smartphone from other devices like computers because they are mobile revolving doors of a meaning-making practice among multiple social domains that are interconnected or ‘telecocoons’ communal spaces (private encounters in public spaces through network technology like SMS text messaging, a term coined by Habuchi, 2005).

Presently the mobile phone is finishing its transition from being just a mobile telephonic device to mobile Web 2.0. This is the term used for mobile access to Web 2.0 (Cobo and Pardo, 2007, p.118); the technical platforms that allows precisely the meaning-making practice of a new business model.

Phone technology (and its use) has changed from a onefunction localized technology to multifunctional mobile technology. Phones, different from tablets and laptops, have a longer historical use. It is an artifact from the 1870s, therefore users are very familiar with it and changes to it can go undetected.

The criteria used to focus this inquiry on middle class users was the fact that where digital illiteracy was being encountered could not be explained by reasons of social income or lack of education. Also, in terms of availability, the authors had access to middle class subjects for the scenario test and User Experience Designers interviews.

2.2. THE RESEARCH 2.2.1. Online Questionnaire Survey An online anonymous questionnaire survey about the use of Smartphones was carried out (July 31, 2012 – November 15, 2012). The objective of the questionnaire was to gather feedback on the use of mobile communication devices. It addressed point A of the authors’ definition of digital literacy: Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 22 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

the understanding of the design elements in a given task (interface). It concerned Functional Digital Literacy (Poore, 2010), a term used to describe how a user understands an interface in order to achieve the desired digital task. The selection of the participants was random but the authors were specific that they had to reside in Puerto Rico and could not be User Experience designers or related practitioners.

The questionnaire had a total of 24 participants (19 females/5 males).

Most of the participants were highly educated (92% had a Bachelor or higher degree), majority were females (79%) and 63% use iPhone as their Smartphone. In terms of legibility, 87% needed to enlarge text; it should be noted that most of the participants of the questionnaire survey were between 36 to 65 years old. Only 13% of participants were of the 26 to 35 year old age range. Those with High Usage include one male and three females, between the ages of 35 and 55, all with university level education. Three of them mentioned they usually use the 3G network rather than Wi-Fi and all of them had unlimited data plans.

The results of the questionnaire were: • 16.16% had a High Usage • 33.33% had an Above Average Usage • 33.33% had an Average Usage • 16.16% had a Below Average Usage SMS text messaging was at the top of the Smartphone’s features used by participants (100%), followed closely by email (96%), making calls (96%) and browsing the Web (96%).

A bit lower was taking photos (92%) and then it dropped considerably in other activities like accessing social networks (75%) and other uses like Skype (25%). Only 8% said they use all the mobile applications their Smartphone offers, although

23

54% are aware of the applications on the device. The limited use of the Smartphone Apps is confirmed by the fact that 58% have asked for assistance in the use of their Smartphone. The found popularity of SMS text messaging corroborates the finding of the Digital & Mobile Behavioral Study that puts SMS text messaging as the top mobile activity with 88.7% of mobile phone use (Rodríguez Báez, Jové, 2012, p.28).

The popularity of SMS text messaging might be explained because it can be done in public and quickly ‘while engaged with other activities that require partial or sporadic attention, or the appearance of attention’ (Ito, 2004). From the high level of know-how of the SMS activity, the knowledge to send video via SMS drops to 88% and downloading documents to 79%. In contrast, sending a photo via SMS was 100%, just as SMS text messaging. This indicates that as their Iranian counterparts, SMS is the preferred networking activity on their Smartphone by these users. Regarding the use of social media, 79% of participants accessed Facebook and 50% accessed Twitter. It must be noted that the participants’ Smartphone use is similar to Google’s research cited earlier (Think with Google, 2012, pp.20-21).

The users with Above Average (5 females/3 males) and Average Usage (7 females/1 male) made up the largest groups of participants. Just as the High Usage participants, they included users of diverse ages, levels of education, sex and devices. In general, the results of the survey do not reflect a connection between education level, gender, age and Functional Digital Literacy levels. Neither the operating system of mobile devices, data plans nor do types of network connection seem to affect the users’ level of understanding of the design elements in a given task.

The high percentage of those that needed assistance to complete a task (58%) on their Smartphone might be an Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 24 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

indicator of Functional Digital Illiteracy. The same goes for the low percentage (8%) of those participants that used all the features of their Smartphone. The result of the questionnaire is not conclusive enough to explain why users do not use their Smartphone to its maximum capacity. The authors also note that due to the high percentage of female participants a followup questionnaire should be done to consider only the male population in order to corroborate these findings.

2.2.2. Semi Structured Interviews to Local User Experience Designers Semi Structured interviews were done to three local User Experience (UX) designers from August, 2012 to January, 2013. To clarify to non-design readers, UX designers work in the field of technology trying to address how a product or service is perceived and how the user interacts with it. For two months, an open call was made to UX Designers through the design firm’s social network profile and a social network group dedicated to local startup companies. As a result of lack of availability this part of the inquiry was limited to the three designers that responded to the call. The criteria was to interview those designers that applied a user-centered method, therefore have had direct contact with users through prototype testing. Interviews were done by phone, were recorded and had follow-up emails. The interviews were made to address point B of the authors’ definition of digital literacy: the comprehension of the meanings of actions done through the digital communication technology (consequences and responsibilities of a digital citizen).

UX Designer from a Bank The first interviewee works for the biggest Puerto Rican bank. Her job is to design the mobile experience for Native (application based in the Smartphone’s system) and Web Apps (mobile apps launched from the Web), in conjunction

25

to the online banking service. Her method is to design paper prototypes with her team and from there, build a working prototype. Then it is user tested in-house with bank employees and with a limited scope of outside users. As clarified in an email: “After having a working prototype, user testing interactions help define the expected behavior within the real context. It consists of analysis and interviews with user scenario representatives of every audience and insight. The results are used as design guidelines which include demographics and personal needs” (Cestero, 2012). The purpose of the usability tests is for the programming domain only; there is no qualitative methodology concerning users. After working for four years: two in a newspaper and two in the bank, her appreciation, as UX designer and Content Generator, is that the user only uses about 30% of the Smartphone’s operating system capacities. She detects that users flow successfully throughout the tasks of a mobile App interface but “many still don’t know that the way to protect digital information is by having passwords and customizing their mobile settings” (Cestero, 2012). She continued to point out that: “This is a big responsibility. We are in the middle of a growing and changing cross platform ecosystem; user behavior tracking is key to understand the context of THIS IS A BIG RESPONSIBILITY

interaction and demographic needs. And yes, I agree

[..] WE NEED A SOCIAL

that we need a social commitment and a sense of digital

COMMITMENT

belonging [..] and things can eventually be achieved, but it -Cestero,2012

is very dangerous to get to that point and still have people who don’t know how to use the media in full capacity.

Smartphones can be double edged weapons. How to choose passwords, how to communicate and the meaning of what we communicate, what you write, what you say, stays and then you lose control over it, especially in the digital world” (Cestero, 2012).

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 26 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

SMARTPHONES CAN BE

The “double edge” reference is not necessarily applied only

DOUBLE EDGED WEAPONS.

to Smartphones, but it can be applied to all devices that allow

-Cestero, 2012

the revolving door of the meaning-making practice, as in, for example, advertising apps in social networking platforms.

The user is not aware that by clicking certain Social Network Apps they are accepting to become a vehicle of user-to-user advertising. The present geo-locality technology will very soon allow ads to target users in real-time according to their mobile locality. These are Behavioral Targeting techniques that are regulated by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). ‘[..] We need to be aware of the danger that our words become co-opted by economically and market-driven discourses, no matter how contemporary and “postcapitalist” these may appear. The new fast capitalist literature stresses adaptation to constant change through thinking and speaking for oneself, critique and empowerment, innovation and creativity, technical and systems thinking, and learning how to learn. All of these ways of thinking and acting are carried by new and emerging discourses. These new workplace discourses can be taken in two very different ways - as opening new educational and social possibilities, or as new systems of mind control or exploitation’ (New London Group, 1996, p.67).

Freelance UX Designer The second interviewee works as independent contractor and is a fifth year Computer Engineering student at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. He designs hybrid mobile Apps (a combination of Native and Web App programming) for university projects and non-profit organizations. He includes prototypes in his projects if the client sees it fit for their budget, needs and wants. He has done only one prototype. His design is programming led. His method alternates from two models

27

of software development: the Spiral (Boehm, 1986) and the Waterfall. Although both are user oriented, the Spiral is an iterative model that allows more flexibility in the design throughout development by constant testing/evaluating/ shifting; in contrast, the Waterfall is a linear model. The Waterfall requires that each step is solved before entering the next stage. His direct contact with the users is only considered if the client allows it, therefore he has used the Waterfall model more frequently in mobile applications. He made a point that he was able to have a more iterative approach in Website design projects.

His appreciation after working for three years is that the user does not know how to use a Smartphone, regardless of income, education or gender. He narrated how one of his clients does not know how to use the Apps he will design, but hired him anyway: “I have a Blackberry, I don’t know how to use it, but you will work with our IT, she is the one who had the idea and I liked it” (López Garcia, 2012). He continues to point out: ...ETHIC ISSUES OF THE

“The recent events with politicians in embarrassing online

CLIENTS DECISION MAKING

situations that have cost them their government positions

AROUND MOBILE APPS.

[a Puerto Rican Senator, a member of the Costa Rican

-López García, 2012

Cabinet member and a United States Congressman -note by the authors] happened because these are really news Apps, and the user does not understand really well what they do [..] It is a new space that the user does not know, even the one designing it cannot foresee all the consequences [..] I really wonder up to what point we can assign sole responsibility to the designer or the user in the break of the social pact due to digital illiteracy; I think it is a dance, or a game of all the players [..] But it is the responsibility of the designer and developer to give full orientation about the consequences concerning ethic issues of the clients decision making around mobile Apps” (López Garcia, 2012).

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 28 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

Startup Company UX Designer The last interviewee just launched a project management Web based software to be used by creative teams called Blimp (getblimp.com). He and two other partners are the owners of this technological startup. The interviewee is self-taught, has worked on Ad agencies, video production companies and mostly does Web Apps. He has worked in two Smartphone Apps for clients, which did not do well and were discontinued. His method is mostly rapid prototyping with iterative unstructured and uncontrolled small scale user tests with paper prototyping, followed sometimes with screen activity recording on a working prototype. Mostly he has one or two weeks to finish due to the clients’ requirements, as for example, a Landing Page (a one-click web page used for marketing campaigns or online advertising). He thinks the limited access to the users is due to the fact that “clients are afraid to explore” (Collazo, 2013), therefore they do not approve budget for user-centered methods. Still, in his own software development, as the other interviewees, he only does usability testing. Experience, contextual and cross cultural approaches are not part of his methodology. ...WE MATCH GOOGLE ANALYTICS AND VALIDATED LEARNING METHODS. -Collazo, 2013

“They [the users of Blimp] mostly ask us for things they do by habit and want to see how they can do it in our software. Tests are not structuralized formally. We use our chat services and email. We choose users to further our inquiry; we match Google Analytics and Validated Learning methods. Bit by bit, I start to know the user, although, I do not know their working context [..] We are a bootstrap company. Therefore, there is urgency to get results quickly to validate our ideas.” (Collazo, 2013).

Learning the users’ needs by interaction and quick respond in production might be effective to pick up users’ activities and some insightfulness on their motivations. It is an agile method for small scale development, but unreliable on complicated

29

systems. Concerning the author’s inquiry about digital illiteracy in the Smartphone he stated: “In my close environment, friends and family, they do not ask for help, but I admit, they do not generate content. They are spectators” (Collazo, 2013).

The three interviewees recognized instances of digital illiteracy in the users. Although up until the interview, they did not THEY USE...NO CONTEXTUAL

make a conscious connection between the lack of Smartphone

RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES

literacy, cultural factors and the possible social repercussions.

They use limited, qualitative and user centered studies and no contextual research methodologies. User testing depends on their limited budget and their clients’ or employers’ circumstances to allow it. So the interviewees might be missing important information concerning the user behavior and experience. This leaves unanswered questions concerning the current socio-technological transition of Puerto Rico to a ‘network society’ (Castells, 2000). Are there gaps between local UX designers and the users of mobile communication devices that might prompt more interference in the users’ digital literacy? If so, what are the particular factors (if any) that occur in the social-political landscape because of this interference?

It is important to point out that the local UX designers might be missing to accommodate the cultural ways of the local users by not considering their culture-specific attributes in their “reading” of design elements as a meaning-making activity.

Designing by international standards instead of incorporating inter and cross-cultural approaches can result in digital products that are culturally and technically suited for global communities but may have features that fail to be usable locally. Therefore we might have local UX designers that are unfamiliar with their own context, including digital divide factors as poor Internet connection in some towns and how people experience their

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 30 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

THE CROSS-CULTURAL

products. The cross-cultural approach consists in making the

APPROACH CONSISTS IN

necessary design adjustments to technology so that products

MAKING THE NECESSARY

have the ability to work in different cultures and economic

DESIGN ADJUSTMENTS

levels. Even in small markets like Puerto Rico, the approach

TO TECHNOLOGY SO THAT

should be more inter-cultural than localized because of the

PRODUCTS HAVE THE ABILITY TO WORK IN DIFFERENT CULTURES AND ECONOMIC LEVELS.

island’s diversity in religion and aesthetics, among other social issues. The one-size-fits-all approach is not cost effective for local businesses. Authors have found in their practice that there is a need for a balance between international standards and inter/cross cultural approaches. Although it should be noted, that to be competitive in today’s global market, not incorporating successfully the Mobile Web Best Practices can be detrimental to an App’s success. Successfully negotiating glocally can be a challenge by itself.

The lack of a strong local design industry is related to the lack of strong local businesses. Therefore, it is not surprising that local UX designers have little or no direct access to the user thus often limiting their studies to secondary market research, programming usability testing and web analytics.

2.2.3. Scenario (Storytelling) Test A Scenario Test was done with local users that ranged in age from 18 to 60. Scenarios tests consist on a story (narrative) used to immerse the participant in order to extrapolate their tacit knowledge about his or her digital literacy and beliefs about technology. This scenario test was intended to highlight the users’ digital literacy, beliefs, perceptions and motivations regarding the role of technological communication detonated by a fictitious story of conflict resolution and negotiations of privacy in work related interpersonal relationships. The participants were urban middle class Smartphone users selected by availability. It was explained beforehand that their answers would be used to extrapolate their knowledge and attitudes towards technology. A fictional scenario was narrated

31

to each participant followed by a semi-structured interview based on seven questions that encouraged the user to offer different solutions to the situation raised in the scenario with a technological perspective. The activity was recorded and each lasted approximately 14 minutes. The scenario test was concerned only with point B of the authors’ definition of digital literacy: comprehension of the meanings of actions done through the digital communication technology (consequences and responsibilities of a digital citizen). The scenario test had a total of 22 participants. The scenario used for the activity presented a fictionalized combination of real cases: An employee of company X, still in a six month probation period, posted on her social network profile early in the morning of a work day, a comment about how much she hated her job. A friend of hers quickly commented back complaining about his boss. The post was done using restriction measures, meaning that only close friends in their lists could read the post and comment on it. It all happened in a matter of minutes. They were both posting from their Smartphone while at work, seating at their cubicles. They complained about their respective company’s working hours, compared notes and one of them referred to his boss by race. In the afternoon, another friend who did not work with either of them read the posts on his tablet. He thought it was funny and took a screenshot of the thread. He added some cool effects and posted it in his own profile in a photographic social network. It did not exactly go viral, but it was enough for the supervisor of the first employee to stumble onto it that night, when the feed of an ongoing debate of racial slurring was shared on her micro blog. The next day the employee that started the online conversation received an email to her work inbox firing her due to unethical behavior concerning racial comments.

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 32 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

Benchmarks Metalanguage was used in the scenario as well as in the unstructured interview. The scenario was written to expose the ambivalent borders between personal and public domains (critical transferring). The three benchmarks established for the activity were (Poore, 2010): 1. Functional Digital Literacy - ‘[..] it means knowing how ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS FOR CRITICAL TRANSFERRING (Poore, 2010) 1. FUNCTIONAL DIGITAL LITERACY 2. NETWORK DIGITAL LITERACY 3. CRITICAL DIGITAL LITERACY

to find and add and invite friends; [..] how to upload a profile photo, etc’. Questions to participants were: Did the participant understand all the technological actions that took place in the scenario? Can he or she offer solutions that may lead to different outcomes?

2. Network Digital Literacy - ‘[..] how to manage your profiles and identities online; knowing what happens to the material you upload’. These are issues concerning replicability, collapsed distinct social context and invisible audiences (Meyrowitz, 1985, cite in Boyd, 2008, pp.2634). Questions to participants were: Did the participant recognize Meyrowitz’ issues? Did the participant narrate similar stories? Did the participant recognize how his or her behavior in network communities can expose his or her beliefs, values and ethical positions?

3. Critical Digital Literacy - ‘[..] higher-level thinking and engagement’ on a participatory level. Questions to participants were: Did the participant understand the different levels of meaning-making when there is a lack of spatial content and how online behavior perceived in asynchronously communication?

This was the most revealing activity of the inquiry, because is started to shed light on possible cultural behavior concerning the users’ willingness to learn and acquire digital literacy. The findings of the scenario test were:

33

• 45% understood all the technological actions in the story.

• 77% were aware of the lack of spatial content in digital communication.

• 95% disapprove of the supervisor firing through digital communication.

• 73% were more concerned with how the supervisor dealt with the conflict than the employee’s online behavior.

• All participants were suspicious about digital communication.

• The participants expressed that their private content could be exposed and intervened without their knowledge.

The only strategy to resist this breach of their privacy would be not to use digital communication and content oriented systems.

• They were not surprised of the employee’s outcome, because she should have “know better”.

HIGH CONTEXT (Hall, 1976)

How does the local context affect the cultural patterns of

SOCIETY HAS A COLLECTIVE

Smartphone use? Under Face-Negotiation Theory (Ting-

MINDSET AND NON VERBAL

Toomey, 1998) the participants positioned themselves on the

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN

category of Other Face Concern, how the other person looks

MEMBERS OF A GROUP THAT

under a conflicting situation. They expressed support for the

SHARE THE SAME INEXPLICIT

employee’s need for inclusion (Face-Giving) in the supervisor’s

RULES OF ENGAGEMENTS.

decision-making process. Also there was support for the employee’s autonomy, a respect for their own space and dissociation (Face-Saving). According to this communication cultural model, digital communication was not an effective tool to address a work related conflict. This falls into the High Context (Hall, 1976) framework that defines that society has a collective mindset and non verbal communication between members of a group that share the same inexplicit rules of engagements. Participants were very clear that both employee

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 34 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

and supervisor should have addressed the issue outside the digital realm, including other modes like emails, SMS, even phone call. Only five participants offered a different digital solution, the rest offered face to face mediation. Digital communication was perceived as something mostly for noncritical activities and leisure related communication, but not to be trusted. They believe that network space offers no privacy, they perceive technology as distrustful and were mostly motivated to resolve issues face to face. Can this be due to culture?

2.3. RESEARCH FINDINGS Authors identified literature that evidenced how literacy has changed through time due to cultural, social political and economical factors: ‘Historically, the social forces affecting the nature of literacy have had diverse origins. The need to record business transactions in societies moving out of a subsistence economy, the forces of oppression and resistance, the dissemination of religious dogma, the emergence of democratic institutions, and many other disparate forces all have influenced the nature of literacy in different eras’ (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, and Cammack, 2004).

The following is a summary of the findings of the authors’ inquiry: 1. According to the online questionnaire conducted, the Smartphone activity most used is SMS text messaging; a congruent fact with Iranian counterparts. There were a high percentage of those that needed assistance to complete a task (58%). Only 8% said they use all the mobile applications and 54% knew which Apps were available on their Smartphone. Other local and regional researches

35

support these findings. This might be an indicator of Functional Digital Illiteracy, although these do not take into account cultural aspects. The result of the questionnaire is not conclusive enough to explain why users do not use their Smartphones to its maximum capacity. Research that is informed by Inter and Cross Cultural pattern models is needed.

2. There might be a gap between local UX designers and users. If so, it is not clear how this has a direct barring in the digital literacy of the users. This gap might be due to the UX designers’ methodology and how there is not much space or flexibility to change it due to the economical context and lack of UX awareness of more effective user-centered methods that can accommodate limited resources.

3. The results of the scenario test were the most revealing concerning beliefs, perceptions and motivations.

Participants believe that network space offers no privacy, they perceive technology as distrustful and were mostly motivated to resolve issues face to face.

4. The type of digital illiteracy the authors identified in their inquiry was mostly restricted to Functional (the user’s understanding of the interface in order to achieve a desired digital task). The authors found that overall participants have Network and Critical Digital Literacy. Research is needed to understand the impact of the lack of appropriate cultural affordance and its impact on Functional Digital Literacy.

According to the findings the authors’ recommend three areas for further contextual research with more resources in the Caribbean: 1. Cross and inter-cultural design and its impact on digital literacy.

2. UX designer’s role in digital literacy (their beliefs,

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 36 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

motivations, cultural habits and how it interferes in their methodologies).

3. Correlations between digital literacy and social inclusion as way to strengthen the social contract in post-capitalism (Drucker, 1993) societies.

37

3.0 CONCLUSIONS ‘A technology’s value is shaped by its social construction - how designers create it and how people use it, interpret it, and reconfigure it’ (Boyd, 2008, p.12).

It is the understanding of the authors that although the inquiry did not identify conclusively the factors that are affecting users’ behavior with their Smartphone, the middle-class user in Puerto Rico might be on the road to social exclusion because of what it seems to be a Functional Digital Illiteracy. Paraphrasing Björn Johnson, ‘knowledge is always generated under a continual negotiation and will not be produced until the interests of various stakeholders are included’ (Romani, 2007, p.102, translated by the authors). Contemporary learning has become a collective experience with the following activities: • [learning] By doing (Arrow, 1962) • By using (Rosenberg, 1982) • By interacting (Lundvall, 1992) • By searching (Boulding, 1985; Johnson, 1992) • By sharing (Johnson, 1992, Lundvall, 2002, cited in Romani, 2007, pp.102-103).

• By producing (Johnson, 1992) • By exploring (Johnson, 1992) The lack of interest by the participants to acquire new knowledge on how to do certain meaning-making activities on their Smartphones because of lack of trust and differences

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 38 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

in cultural habits and values might compromise the multiliteracies skills needed to navigate critically to other social domains through digital communication technology both as workers and citizens. Post-capitalism societies have a different way to organize the workforce: workers hired by project only, teams with different locations, with members having flexible responsibilities and dynamic roles, all in a community of practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991) that creates a collective intelligence (Lankshear and Knobel, 2012, p.98).

Also the participatory element in Web 2.O might not always be transparent to the user; an advantage that companies can benefit off because the user can add value tacitly to their products.

‘Academic theorists (Terranova, 2004; Green & Jenkins, 2009) have offered cogent critiques of what they describe as the “free labor” provided by those who choose to contribute their time and effort to creating content which can be shared through such sites, while consumers and fans have offered their own blistering responses to shifts in the terms of service which devalue their contributions or claim ownership over the content they produced. Many Web 2.0 sites provide far less scaffolding and mentorship than offered by more grassroots forms of participatory culture’ (Lankshear and Knobel, 2012, p.62).

All the participants of the scenario test resolved personal troubling issues outside of the digital domain; their ‘Face Negotiation’ strategies were not of digital engagement.

In the end this might compromise their digital citizenship.

Nevertheless, there is evidence of recent local digital participatory culture concerning a collective outcry in a social network around a violent crime that prompted a rapid arrest.

This online collective outcry is coherent with High Content societies. Still, it does not answer why participants of this inquiry are suspicious about using Smartphones or any other

39

digital communication technology when resolving personal conflicting situations. This finding has been correlated with other authors’ clients.

The implications to the social contract - if digital literacy is compromised, even at the Functional level - are that the users will be vulnerable to coercion and manipulation by unethical business and dubious political ventures. ‘Under current and foreseeable conditions, failure to address the “participation”, “transparency”, and “ethical” gaps [..] will constitute a grave dereliction of commitment to democratic values’ (Lankshear and Knobel, 2012, p.66). The interesting thing is that most of the scenario test participants chose not to learn how to use the “smart” features of their phones because they did not trust it; therefore they have no need to learn it. It is not clear why there is a lack of knowledge with the questionnaire participants, but it might be due to cultural differences in mechanism to read and contextualize non-verbal communication. The resistance to acquire digital literacy is still prevalent in some of the authors’ clients, even in projects that are intensive user centered and participatory. The preference for face to face negotiations instead of online communication among stakeholders, even when it means driving long distances and delaying work schedules, is common among the authors’ clients. Differences in cultural habits and values can make some aspects of digital literacy optional, since they might not be perceived as required skills to be part of the community.

The discourse of the social construct of mobile communication systems replicates into other contexts -both online and offline situated spaces. The more social processes like voting, education, online patient records and online banking, among other, move to technology mediated systems, the more it might compromise the Puerto Rican citizen’s behavior to function in society and understand the consequences of their Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 40 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

participation through mobile communication technology. If in future research it is confirmed that local users do not want to learn how to use the technology for other activities other than CULTURAL DISSONACE

leisure due to lack of trust and possible cultural dissonance in

IN THE HCI DESIGN

the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) design, they might be unwillingly moving towards exclusion of the digital domain, which eventually will affect their civil rights. Lack of digital functionality will limit their abilities to work successfully in postcapitalism societies that require Web 2.0 comprehension and compatibility with online social cross-cultural learning behavior (Culatta, 2012). This can deteriorate even further the chances for participatory democracy and economic growth in an already weakened society.

‘Some other implications Smartphone illiteracy has is that it creates an even larger gap between parents and children, regarding web use, safety issues, sexting, bullying, etc.

They [parents] usually don’t understand the importance of reliable passwords, and probably don’t involve themselves in mobile banking or shopping. They probably don’t follow the news on their Smartphones either, leading to a rather disconnected life’ (Homar, 2013).

IF THE LOCAL INDUSTRY

The lack of contextual researches that explores the beliefs,

OR GOVERNMENT ONLY

perceptions and motivations of Caribbean users on their use of

USES QUANTITATIVE

mobile devices is also reason for concern. If the local industry

RESEARCH, THEY MIGHT BE

or Government only uses quantitative research, they might be

WRONGLY LED TO BELIEVE

wrongly led to believe that access is equal to comprehension,

THAT ACCESS IS EQUAL TO COMPREHENSION, THEREFORE, DEMOCRATIZATION.

therefore, democratization. Democracy is not only access to information but the citizens’ understanding of their rights, exercise of those rights, dissenting actions and capacity for policy making, among other high level thinking activities in a social learning environment.

The role of value driven designers is very important when establishing the scaffolding of a network society that may

41

strengthen liberties and rights. The responsibility of digital literacy education that takes into account cultural behaviors is not exclusively the designer’s, but one to be shared with clients, users and all members of the community.

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 42 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

REFERENCES

Arrow, K. (1962). ‘The Economic Implications of Learning by Doing’, Review of Economic Studies 29: 155–73.

Aryana, B., Boks, C. (2010). Cultural Customization of Mobile Communication Devices’ Components In: International Design Conference - DESIGN 2010 Dubrovnik, Croatia, May 17 - 20, 2010 (Online) Available at: http://ntnu-no.academia.edu/ BijanAryana/Papers/228851/Cultural_Customization_of_Mobile_ Communication_Devices_Components [Accessed July 20, 2012] Aryana, B., Boks, C., Navabi, A. (2011). Possibilities for Cultural Customization of Mobile Communication Devices: The Case of Iranian Mobile Users (Online) Available at: http://link.springer. com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-642-21753-1_21 [Accessed July 20, 2012] Betsy Feist Resources and Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy (2007). Benchmark Studies & reports in Adult Literacy (Online) Available at: http://www.caalusa.org/benchmarkstudies606.pdf [Accessed August 2, 2012] Boehm, B. (1986). A Spiral Model of Software Development and Enhancement (Online) Available at: http://csse.usc.edu/csse/ TECHRPTS/1988/usccse88-500/usccse88-500.pdf [Accessed September 1, 2012] Boulding, K. (1985). The World as a Total System. London: Sage.

Boyd, D. (2008). Taken Out of Context: American Teen Sociality in Networked Publics. PH.D University of California (Online) Available at: http://www.danah.org/papers/TakenOutOfContext. pdf [Accessed August 12, 2012] Castaño, C. (2008). La segunda brecha digital. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra Campbell, S., Jin Park, Y. (2008). Social Implications of Mobile Telephony: The Rise of Personal Communication Society (Online) Available at: http://et2050.eu/Et2050_Library/docs/tech/society/social_ implications_mobile_technology.pdf [Accessed September 1, 2012] Castells, M. (2000). The Rise of the Network Society: The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture (2nd edn). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Cestero C. (2012). Phone Interview [Personal Communication] Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 8:08 PM from M.D.M O’Neill. Duration: 1: 02:25.

Cestero C. (2012). RE: articulo [Personal Communication] Sat, Sep 1, 2012 at 8:43 PM to: “mmo@rubberbandpr.com” mmo@rubberbandpr. com Chen, Y.Q. (2008). Non-Designed Design. (Online) Available at: http:// www.changingthechange.org/papers/ctc.pdf , p.15 Cobo Romaní, C., Pardo Kublinski, H. (2007). Planeta Web 2.0. Inteligencia colectiva o medios fast food. Grup de Recerca d’Interaccions Digitals, Universitat de Vic. Barcelona / México DF. Flacso México.

Collazo G. (2013). Phone Interview [Personal Communication] Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at 4:57 PM from M.D.M O’Neill. Duration: 0: 30:43.

Connect Puerto Rico (2012). 2012 Connect Puerto Rico Residential Technology Assessment (Online) Available at: http://www. connectpr.org/sites/default/files/connected-nation/Puerto%20 Rico/files/connect_puerto_rico_2012_residential_ppt_091012.pdf [Accessed September 13, 2012] Culatta, R. (2012). Innovative Learning. (Online) Available at: http:// innovativelearning.com/teaching/social_learning.html [Accessed January 20, 2013] Daly, T. (2009). NCSS Position Statement on Media Literacy (Online) Available at: http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/ medialiteracy [Accessed September 24, 2012]

43

Disdier Flores, O., Pesante González, F., Marazzi Santiago, M (2012).

Encuesta de Alfabetización, Año natural 2010 (Online) Available at: http://www.estadisticas.gobierno.pr/iepr/LinkClick. aspx?fileticket=exXSJ20kCs4%3d&tabid=165 [Accessed August 14, 2012] Drucker, P. (1993). Post-capitalist Society. New York: Harper.

Fiske, A.P. (1992). The Four Elementary Forms of Sociality: Framework for an Unified Theory of Social Relations, Psychological Review, 99, 689-723.

Gomez, A. (2011). Report from the Field: A Broadband Bridge to Puerto Rico. (Online) Available at https://www.facebook.com/notes/ national-telecommunications-and-information-administration/ report-from-the-field-a-broadband-bridge-to-puertorico/297677080265337?comment_id=4131531&offset=0&total_ comments=2 [Accessed September 23, 2012] Grafal, J.R . (2012). Hay 2.7 millones de móviles en la Isla. (Online) Available at: http://periodicolaperla.com/index.php?option=com_ content&view=article &id=1740&Itemid=201 [Accessed July 9, 2012] Green, J. and Jenkins, H. (2009). “The Moral Economy of Web 2.0: Audience Research and Convergence Culture”. In J. Holt and A. Perren eds Media Industries: History, Theory and Methods. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 213–25.

Habuchi, I. (2005). ‘Accelerating Reflexivity.’ Pp. 165–82 in Personal, Portable, Pedestrian: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life, edited by Mizuko Ito, Daisuke Okabe and Misa Matsuda. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Hall, E. (1976). Beyond Culture. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group: New York.

Hofstede, G., (n.d.) Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. (Online) Available at: http://geert-hofstede.com/dimensions.html [Accessed August 5, 2012] Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values. Sage: Beverly Hills, CA. Homar, L (2013). RE: tu estudio con mis comentarios [Personal Communication] Sat, Feb 23, 2013 at 7:39 PM to: “mmo@ rubberbandpr.com” mmo@rubberbandpr.com Ito, M. (2004). Personal Portable Pedestrian: Lessons from Japanese Mobile Phone Use. (Online) Available at: http://www.japanfocus. org/-Mizuko-ITO/1896 [Accessed August 12, 2012] Ito, M., Okabe, D., and Matsuda, M. (eds) (2006). Personal, Portable, Pedestrian: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life, Cambridge MA, London: The MIT Press Jakobsson, M. (2003). HCI Design Method (Online) Available at: http:// lipas.uwasa.fi/~mj/hci/hci5.html [Accessed September 1, 2012] Jenkins,H., Purushotma, R., Clinton, K., Weigel, M., Robison, A. (2006).

Confronting the Challenge of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21s Century. Occasional Paper. Boston, MA: MIT/MacArthur Foundation. (Online) Available at: http://digitallearning.macfound.org/atf/cf/%7B7E45C7E0A3E0-4B89-AC9C-E807E1B0AE4E%7D/JENKINS_WHITE_PAPER.PDF [Accessed January 20, 2013] Jones, C., Floyd, I., Twidale, M. (2007). Patchwork Prototyping: A Rapid Prototyping Technique That Harnesses the Power of Open-Source Software. (Online) Available at: https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/ bitstream/handle/2142/9804/jones_floyd_twidale_patchwork_ prototyping_draft.pdf?sequence=3 [Accessed July 9, 2012] Johnson, B. (1992) ‘Institutional Learning’, in B.-Å. Lundvall (ed.) National Systems of Innovation: Towards a Theory of Innovation and Interactive Learning, pp. 23–44. London: Pinter

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 44 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

Juarrero, A. (2000). Dynamics in Action: Intentional Behavior as a Complex System (Online) Available at: http://intersci.ss.uci.edu/wiki/pub/ Juarrero(2000)Dynmcs_Action(ECO).pdf [[Accessed January 2, 2013] Katz, J. E. Aakhus, M. (eds.) 2002. Perpetual Contact: Mobile Communication, Private Talk, Public Performance. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Knowe, R. (2010). Resources for integrating Design Thinking in Education (Online) Available at: http://designchile.wordpress. com/2010/10/06/resources-for-integrating-design-thinking-ineducation/ [Accessed September 24, 2012] Lave, J. and Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Leu, D.,Kinzer, C.,Coiro, J., Cammack, D. (2004). Toward a Theory of New Literacies Emerging From the Internet and Other Information and Communication Technologies (Online) Available at: http://www. readingonline.org/newliteracies/leu/ [Accessed Aug 2, 2012] Lankshear, C. Knobel, M. (2012). ‘New’ literacies: technologies and values.

Revista Teknokultura, (2012), Vol. 9 Núm. 1: 45-69. (Online) Available at: http://www.teknokultura.net/index.php/tk/article/ view/54/pdf_13 [Accessed July 9, 2012] Lefebvre, H. (1974). The Production of Space. Edition Anthropos.

López Garcia, A. (2012). Phone Interview [Personal Communication] Thursday, August 16, 2012 at 5:23 PM from M.D.M O’Neill.

Duration: 0: 56:14.

Lundvall, B.-Å. (ed.) (1992) National Systems of Innovation: Towards a Theory of Innovation and Interactive Learning. London: Pinter Martinez . E. (2011). Más cibernautas, pero pocos adelantos (Online) Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/76734406/BrechaDigital-la-herida-que-sigue-abierta-Tinta-Electronica-N°-3 [Accessed July 9, 2012] Martin, J., McKay, E. and Hawkins, L.(2006). The Human-Computer Interaction Spiral (Online) Available at: http://proceedings. informingscience.org/InSITE2006/ProcMart124.pdf [Accessed September 1, 2012] New London Group. (1996). A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 69–92. (Online) Available at: http://www.pwrfaculty.net/summer-seminar/ files/2011/12/new-london-multiliteracies.pdf [Accessed August 4, 2012] Nielsen, Jakob, and Landauer, Thomas K. (1993). “A mathematical model of the finding of usability problems,” In: Proceedings of ACM INTERCHI’93 Conference (Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 24-29 April 1993), pp. 206-213.

Paul Gee, J (2009). Digital Media and Learning as an Emerging Field, Part I: How We Got Here (Online) Available at: http://www. mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1162/ijlm.2009.0011 [Accessed July 9, 2012] Pesante F. (2012). RE: pregunta [Personal Communication] Mon, Jul 9, 2012 at 10:43 AM to: “mmo@rubberbandpr.com” mmo@rubberbandpr. com Preece. J. (1994). Human-Computer Interaction, Addison Wesley.

Pineda, M. (2012). Mesa Directiva de la Conferencia Regional sobre la Mujer de América Latina y el Caribe. (Online) Available at http:// www.cepal.org/mujer/noticias/noticias/2/46202/2-Para_Mesa_ V3.pptx [Accessed July 9, 2012] Poore, M. (2010). The Three Tiers of Digital Literacy (Online) Available at http://meganpoore.com/tag/functional-digital-literacy/[Accessed July 9, 2012]

45

Rheingold, H. (2002). Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution. Cambridge: Perseus.

Rodríguez Báez, L., Jové K. (2012). Digital & Mobile Behavior Study 2012, Asociación de Ejecutivos de Ventas y Mercadeo de Puerto Rico (SME) (Online) Available at: http://pinosmediagroup.webs.com/ apps/documents/ [Accessed December 27, 2012] Rodríguez Báez, L., Rodríguez Cid, R. (2013). Digital & Mobile Behavior Study 2013, Asociación de Ejecutivos de Ventas y Mercadeo de Puerto Rico (SME) In: SME Digital Forum, May 16, 2013, Puerto Rico.

Rosenberg, N. (1982). Inside the Black Box: Technology and Economics.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rowsell, J., Burke, A. (2009). Reading by Design: Two Case Studies of Digital Reading Practices (Online) Available at: http:// mylearningspaces.com/docs/ReadingbyDesign.pdf [Accessed July 9, 2012] Terranova, T. (2004). Network Culture: Politics for the Information Age. London: Pluto Press.

Think with Google (2012). The New Multi-Screen World (Online) Available at: http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/insights/featured/newmulti-screen-world-insight/ [Accessed September 4, 2012] Triandis, H.C. (1994). Culture and Social Behaviour, McGraw-Hill.

Trompenaars, F. (1993). Riding the Wave of Culture, London, The Economist Books.

Ting-Toomey, S. (1985). “Toward a Theory of Conflict and Culture. “ In Communication, Culture, and Organizational Processes, eds.

William B. Gudykunst, Leah B. Stewart, and Stella Ting-Toomey. pp. 71-86. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Sayed, S., Singh A., Saad-Sulonen, J. Diaz L. (2010). Co-construction through complex adaptive system (Online) Available at: http:// ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/719/598 [Accessed January 2, 2013] Vega Alvarado, J. (2011). Use of Cell Phones to Surf Internet Surges in Puerto Rico, Study Finds. (Online) Available at: http:// www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news03.php?nt_id=57777&ct_ id=1[Accessed December 27, 2012] Anon. (2011). Más uso de aplicaciones que navegación en celulares.

(Online) Available at: http://pr.globedia.com/uso-aplicacionesnavegacion-celulares [Accessed July 9, 2012] Anon. (n.d.) Geert Hofstede & Gert Jan Hofstede (Online) Available at: http://www.geerthofstede.nl/research--vsm.aspx [Accessed August 5, 2012] Anon. (2010). Estadísticas del uso de los móviles en América Latina.

(Online) Available at: http:// http://www.celularis.com/mercado/ estadisticas-moviles-america-latina/ [Accessed July 9, 2012] Anon. (2011). A Demographic Portrait of Puerto Ricans, 2009 (Online) Available at: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2021/puerto-ricostatistical-profile-populations-trends [Accessed August 2, 2012] Anon. (na). Process and Methodologies (Online) Available at: http://www.zeepedia.com/read.php?hci_process_and_ methodologies_lifecycle_models_in_hci_human_computer_ interaction&b=11&c=17 [Accessed July 9, 2012]

Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users 46 Digital María de Mater O’Neill (primary author) and Arthur L. Asseo

Please cite as:

O’Neill, MDM., Asseo, A. (2013) ‘Digital Illiteracy among Puerto Rican Middle Class Smartphone Users ’, paper presented at 2013 SME Digital Forum, Puerto Rico, May 167, 2013; Mobile Telephony in the Developing World, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, May 24 - 25, 2013; and LASA 2013 – XXXI INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS, Towards a New Social Contract?, Washington, D.C., United States, May 29 – June 1, 2013.

47