ABSTRACT

Rachmawaty Djaffar, Internet and the Marginal Community in Makassar (A Case Study of the BBPPKI Internet Gallery Utilization) (supervised by Rhiza S. Sadjad and Muhammad Nadjib).

It is a well known fact that there is what so called “a digital divide” between the marginal communities in a city like Makassar (South Sulawesi, Indonesia) and the rest of the population. This study is to make an assessment to this social phenomenon by focusing on the efforts made by the Balai Besar Pengkajian dan Pengembangan Komunikasi dan Informatika (BBPPKI), a research and development institution under the Department of Communication and Informatics, Republic of Indonesia, to socialize its Internet facility called the “Internet Gallery” among the members of marginal communities in Makassar.

The qualitative description of the Internet knowhow of the users from the members of marginal communities is presented through in-depth interviews and direct observation. It is clearly shown that the Internet users with the marginal family background generally have a low Internet related knowhow at the beginning, and then quickly improved after receiving some help form the staff at the “Internet Gallery”. By the Internet access available to them, these members of the marginal communities have also a much better opportunity to change their living in the future. The BBPPKI's efforts  to make socialization via electronic media, mass media and inter-personal communication are greatly appreciated.