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Aylin Görgün Baran & M.Tuğba Erdem
time-space jam which induces new habits. It is mainly argued that these new habits of
the 21st century are engaged in digital culture and serve to the creativity of the individuals
by offering unlimited choices. Thus, according to van Dijk (2016, pp. 296), main objec-
tive of digitization has become the acceleration of information flows and enhancement
of the production, spread and consumption of communications signals. In this context,
creativity, fragmentation and collage, user production, acceleration and visualization have
become the main parameters of digital culture.
For the empirical analysis presented in this study, 16-74 age category dataset of TURK-
STAT Household Information Technologies Usage Survey is obtained with an official re-
quest. Despite of the limits of household data of TURKSTAT dataset, it is important to
have access to a nation-wide survey. Within the framework of this questionnaire survey
provided by the TURKSTAT, this study intends to analyze skills of information technolo-
gies use and e-security approaches of 16-25 years old youth - so-called ¨net generation¨
(Tapscott, 1998) or ¨digital natives¨ (Prensky, 2001a) - in terms of post-industrial informa-
tion society, digital society and network society.
The main aim of this paper is to open up a discussion for future studies in Turkish litera-
ture about ICT skills and e-security approaches of ‘digital generation’ acknowledged to-
day’s highest usage frequency. Moreover, the lack of empirical data on social, economic
and cultural characteristics of young people involved in this study constitutes the major
limitation. In terms of sociological research, socio-economic status and cultural capital
are of fundamental importance. The inclusion of further objective and subjective data in
TURKSTAT dataset will contribute to the production of richer and more striking findings
for future research.
ICT Use Skills of Youth
Today’s so-called digital natives are ¨surrounded by and using computers, videogames,
digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the
digital age¨ (Prensky, 2001a, pp.1). Young people who are brought up in an environment
with intense exposure to technology are required to be fluent and sophisticated in the
language of these technologies (Bennett, Maton & Kervin, 2008, pp. 778). This generation
refers to 11-31 years old age group in which each individual communicates, checks on
e-mails, downloads music, shops online either with a mobile phone or a laptop (Tap-
scott, 1998, pp.9). As Tapscott expresses, for the first time in generational differences, net
generation grows up more diligent and has more capacity than the previous generation,
and this culture is inevitably imposed on the rest of the society. The net generation is to
become more intelligent, practical and more tolerant to multicultural society, leading to
a transformation in all of the institutions of modern life (Tapscott, 1998, pp. 6). Similarly,
Bell suggests that post-industrial societies give priority to education and use skills of
