Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) A nationwide survey has found that Hakkas are the most digitalized ethnic group and that the "digital divide" phenomenon has been more of a generation issue rather than an urban-rural issue in recent years, an academic said Tuesday in a press conference.
The annual survey, which was conducted by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC), found that 72.1 percent of Hakkas used personal computers while 70.5 percent of Hoklos and 67.2 percent of indigenous peoples did so.
The Hakkas also had the highest percentage of Internet users -- 66.5 percent, compared to Hoklos' 64.9 percent and 60.9 percent of the indigenous peoples.
Hakkas' advanced digitalization may shocked a lot of people, but it's not surprising from the perspective of social studies, said Wu Chyi-in, a research fellow at Academia Sinica's Institute of Sociology.
"According to our long-term statistics, the Hakkas have had the highest level of education among all ethnic groups in Taiwan. Being a minority group with limited resources, most Hakkas have tried to realize social mobility and better lives through obtaining higher levels of education," Wu said this social context might be one of the hidden reasons for the group's advanced digitalization.
"Some fellow researchers described the Hakkas as 'the Jews in Taiwan's society', " Wu added.
In addition to that interesting finding, the academic also said that the results of this survey showed that the main issue in the "digital divide" has shifted from infrastructure to differing ways of life between the generations.
According to the survey, Internet use rates in all age groups under 30 surpassed 94.4 percent, but the rates decrease dramatically in groups over 31 years of age. The same phenomena could also be found in the percentages of those writing personal blogs, regularly making online comments and participating in discussions and knowledge-sharing online.
"It looks like 30 is the watershed age of this 'digital divide 2.0' phenomenon, " said Vandy Liu, a professor at Chung Yuan Christian University's Department of Management of Information Systems.
Liu said that Taiwan has been successful in recent years in developing its information technology infrastructure, which was why the broadband Internet penetration rate was not an issue in most regions; rather the Taiwanese government should pay more attention in developing a "society of Internet citizens."
"That means encouraging Internet users of all ages, especially those who above age 30, to live a 'Web 2.0 life' by sharing their experiences, communicating, challenging authorities and injustice online, because this is how society works nowadays, " he said.
"The question for Taiwan's government is: what's next after laying down the infrastructure? " Wu said.