Abstract:

This study aims to explore the nature of Internet access and use within Arab-Palestinian society in Israel. The research focuses on examining the pace of Internet growth during the last decade and uses a new tool to measure different facets of Internet diffusion and adoption. Furthermore, the study also measures the nature of Internet access, including duration of access and use locations and the nature of use, including frequency, variety and type of use as well as language/s used when surfing.
Educational level is an important dimension of socioeconomic status, which in turn has an impact on different aspects of people’s lives. Arab-Palestinian society in Israel is a minority that has been distanced from the Israeli mainstream because of ongoing Israeli-Palestinian tensions. It is well known that Arab-Palestinians in Israel value education as a means for enhancing their socioeconomic status. Hence, the current research has focused on studying the impact of educational level on Internet diffusion and adoption. Various demographic (such as age and gender) and cultural (such as residency and religion) factors have been selected to examine their influence on Internet use and the position of educational level among all these factors.
This study used data provided to the researcher for the study by the Rikaz Center, which carried out the most exhaustive and representative interview survey of Arab-Palestinians in Israel in 2007.
This study can be considered an important representation of the state of Internet diffusion and adoption at a specific time and can serve as a reference for researchers and policymakers regarding the development of Internet diffusion and adoption within Arab society in Israel. In addition, studying the effect of various demographic and cultural factors can contribute to the understanding the digital divide and the information society in general. Moreover, the studied population is known for its complex and unique socio-political situation, which makes the study of special interest with respect to indigenous minorities.

Keywords:

Digital divide, information society, diffusion of innovation, education, Arab-Palestinians in Israel.