TY - JOUR
T1 - Determinants of internet adoption in Turkey and the need for a more coherent vision on information and communication technologies policy
AU - Dalgic-Tetikol, Deniz Ece
AU - Guloglu, Bulent
AU - Köksal, Emin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Digital transformation offers tremendous opportunities for emerging economies like Turkey. However, the full potential of digital advancements can only be achieved with the widespread adoption of digital technologies, which depends on the capable delivery of information and communication technologies (ICT) and their effective usability. Despite increased Internet penetration rates in Turkey in recent years, disparities in Internet adoption continue to persist. This study investigates whether and to what extent key demographic and socioeconomic factors are associated with the first-level digital divide in Turkey. The phenomenon is discussed in three aspects: device access, Internet access, and Internet use. The findings demonstrate that the vast majority of people in Turkey have Internet-enabled devices, mainly smartphones. Age, income, and education are significant predictors of Internet access. However, even when access is available, large disparities exist among gender, age, income, education, and employment groups in terms of Internet use. Moreover, our findings reveal significant regional differences in both Internet access and use. The results point to the need for a more coherent vision on ICT policies such that the need for demand-side programs are intended to stimulate broadband adoption widely by those groups. This paper provides useful pointers that can facilitate further academic research and structural decisions among policy-makers, by emphasizing the high-priority target groups.
AB - Digital transformation offers tremendous opportunities for emerging economies like Turkey. However, the full potential of digital advancements can only be achieved with the widespread adoption of digital technologies, which depends on the capable delivery of information and communication technologies (ICT) and their effective usability. Despite increased Internet penetration rates in Turkey in recent years, disparities in Internet adoption continue to persist. This study investigates whether and to what extent key demographic and socioeconomic factors are associated with the first-level digital divide in Turkey. The phenomenon is discussed in three aspects: device access, Internet access, and Internet use. The findings demonstrate that the vast majority of people in Turkey have Internet-enabled devices, mainly smartphones. Age, income, and education are significant predictors of Internet access. However, even when access is available, large disparities exist among gender, age, income, education, and employment groups in terms of Internet use. Moreover, our findings reveal significant regional differences in both Internet access and use. The results point to the need for a more coherent vision on ICT policies such that the need for demand-side programs are intended to stimulate broadband adoption widely by those groups. This paper provides useful pointers that can facilitate further academic research and structural decisions among policy-makers, by emphasizing the high-priority target groups.
KW - Internet adoption
KW - Turkey
KW - digital divide
KW - information and communication technology policy
KW - internet access
KW - internet use
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145448464&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/17835917221143060
DO - 10.1177/17835917221143060
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85145448464
SN - 1783-5917
VL - 23
SP - 311
EP - 336
JO - Competition and Regulation in Network Industries
JF - Competition and Regulation in Network Industries
IS - 4
ER -