Poverty and digital literacy: a study on children living at the Pusat Perumahan Rakyat (PPR)

• Main Authors: Mohamed, Shafizan, Wok, Saodah, Mohd Nasir, Nur Shakira, Wan Mohd Ghazali, Wan Norshira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: H10 Societies; H61.8 Communication of information; L Education (General); T Technology (General)
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/92561/1/92561_Poverty%20and%20digital%20literacy%20a%20study%20on%20children%20living.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/92561/; https://www.ijcwed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/IJCWED13_015.pdf
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Children living in poverty are frequently denied beneficial and valuable digital media experiences and abilities. These children frequently do not have access to digital media and are unable to comprehend the potential of digital technologies. Children of B40 income earners living in the Pusat Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) are one segment of Malaysian society that may be affected. This study attempts to offer approaches that can help these children by first evaluating their current degree of digital media use and digital skills. A phone survey on 308 children living at the PPR was conducted in March 2021. The study found that the children have moderate informational and operational skills, safety and security skills, communicational skills and digital participation, and problem-solving skills. However, they lack in content creation and innovation skills. Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide the necessary skills to these underpreviliged children so that they will not be left behind. Thus, the study recommends that policymakers and all stakeholders maximise on existing digital programmes by focusing on child-specific efforts and emphasising the value of digital parenting