Technology Access Points in Turkey: A Study on Internet Cafés and Their Roles in the Society

Abstract

Purpose of the study is to examine one of the popular Internet access places, Internet cafés, in Turkey by focusing the missions of these places regarding gameplay, computer use, Internet use, and their roles in the society. In the study, 71 Internet cafés, existing in 8 different districts in Ankara, capital city of Turkey, were examined during 4 weeks. Data were collected by giving a questionnaire including demographic information about users and their Internet café habits. Internet café users’ observation patterns were reported while they were using Internet and playing computer games. Besides, interviews were conducted with volunteer users in terms of their preferences, such as surfing, chatting, doing homework, or playing computer games, to collect deep information regarding aims of the research. Results of the study revealed that one of the main missions of the Internet cafés in the society is that they are seen as places for game play, because majority of the Internet café users preferred playing computer games. It was found that there are certain differences among café users from low and high socioeconomic districts and gender in terms of Internet café frequency, use habits, and use aims. In addition, parental control on Internet café use showed significant differences among café users. Although there are prejudices and negative considerations on Internet café use in the society, they are not harmful places to the majority of the participants.