Below is a compilation of all five blog posts related to Media Access in Libya and Morocco. For individual blog posts use the “Categories” tab on the right-hand side of the page and click “Media Access”. Also, all blog posts can be viewed under the “Home” page.
Social Factors (Post 1)
Media access is a very important aspect of communication at the global and domestic level, but there are many different elements that must be considered when examining the degree of media access that each country has, the first of which are social factors. Literacy rates and technological affordability are the most important social factors to examine when accessing media access, which is why I find it important to discuss these aspects first.
Literacy Rates: Libya and Morocco
Libya:
In Libya, the literacy rate among adults is 89.9% and the literacy rate for youth is 99.9%. In the Middle East and Northern Africa, the average adult male literacy rate was last measured to be 83.75%, making Libya’s literacy rate above average for its region.
Though Libya has a high literacy rate among its people, the availability of affordable access to the internet is very different. Broadband subscriptions in Libya are low because the cost for home internet connection is too high for the average Libyan to afford. The average annual income for people in Libya is $1,078, while the cost of home internet connection and fees is 220 LYD ($171). The internet can be accessed for a low cost at “cybercafés” and other public places, but internet subscriptions among the entire Libyan population are just over 1% due to its high cost for home and individual use.
Morocco:
In Morocco, the adult literacy rate is 67.1%, and the youth literacy rate is 81.4%. Again, the average adult literacy rate for the Middle East and Northern Africa is 83.75%, so Morocco’s rate for adults is below average for its region.
Like in Libya, internet access availability is limited, but it is more so limited due to an individual’s region as oppose to income. Though affordability is still a factor for media access, Morocco’s internet use is relatively affordable for its people who can access the internet. However, access to the internet is limited to urban areas of the country, leaving those in the rural areas with low media access. Internet providers, such as ITU (International Telecommunication Union) invest primarily in urban areas of the country, but rural inhabitants constitute 37.1% of the population. These people has access to television, radio, and electricity, but the main internet providers have yet to reach these areas and extend internet access to these people.
References:
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2013/libya#.VH4ub4fD82d
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/laj_statistics.html
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/morocco_statistics.html
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Analfabetismo2013unesco.png
Technological Factors (Post 2)
Like Social Factors, there are technological factors that influence media access, two of which are the level of Internet, and mobile phone penetration.
Internet Penetration rates; Highlighted: Morocco and Libya
Libya:
In Libya, Internet penetration is at 19.9%, which is a very low percentage compared to other countries (as highlighted above). However, mobile phone penetration has surpassed 100% of the population at 148.2%.
What is interesting to note about Libya is that although this country has a high literacy rate, this does not mean that the people in this country experience more media access in the form of Internet penetration. As stated in the “Social Factors” portion of media access, the poor and urban sectors of the population cannot afford to purchase the Internet, resulting in low Internet penetration rates.
On the other hand, the mobile phone penetration rate can be attributed to the decreasing costs of cell phones. Since the emergence of a second mobile phone provider in 2003, owning a mobile phone has become more affordable over the years. Though mobile phones are widely used in Libya, there is still an issue with internet penetration on cell phones. Smartphones and cellphones with 3G connectivity are not used as much due to their excessive costs, which also contributes to the low percentage of internet dissemination among the population.
Morocco:
In Morocco, the Internet penetration rate of 55% surpasses that of Libya substantially, and has grown significantly from 2007 when the penetration rate was just over 21%. Though this rate has grown over the years, it is still low compared to other countries such as the United States (as highlighted in the figure above). Like Libya, mobile phone penetration rate among the population is high at 119.7%.
As with Libya, Morocco has a relatively low Internet penetration rate due to social factors. As stated before, rural areas in Morocco do not have access to high-speed Internet connection, which again results in lower levels of media access in regards to the Internet.
References:
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2013/libya#.VHuAwYfD82c
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2013/morocco#.VHuWFYfD82d
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DlJyFTh4bjU/TA0s7TBTxvI/AAAAAAAAJe0/qZ6FhthbO1o/s1600/Internet%2Buse.jpg
Morocco: Internet population v.s Internet penetration (Post 3)
As discussed in the class presentation and previous posts under “Media Access”, there is a huge issue with accessibility of the internet in Morocco. The chart below is a visual representation of this issue, illustrating not only an issue with internet penetration, but illustrating the gap between the population and dissemination rates.
Within the North African and Middle Eastern populations, Morocco is one of the leading countries when it comes to total internet population, but it is interesting to note that this does not translate into more efficient media access in regards to Internet dissemination.
A country’s “Internet population” refers to the amount of people within that country who have used the internet in the last 12 months. Morocco’s high Internet population of over 7.7 million is a relatively positive thing for gaining more media access because it is an indicator that there is a large amount of people using the Internet. However, the issue of media access arises because the internet penetration rate is relatively low.
According to IGI Global “Internet penetration” indicates the percentage of internet users within any given country, and can alternatively be defined as “the relationship between the number of internet users in each country and its demographic area.” Though Morocco’s Internet population is high compared to other countries, it is not high among its own population once you examine the penetration percentage. Of all the people living in Morocco, only 35% of the population are internet users, meaning 65% of the population has little to no access to the internet. (This percentage has grown since this visual was made, and now rests at 55%, but is still low). As mentioned in the definition, internet dissemination is often affected based on different demographic areas, and Morocco’s high rural population is definitely a factor.
According to Trading Economics, Morocco’s rural population as of 2010 was measured at 13,834,961.4 people. Based on this factor, almost half of the population resides in rural areas. As discussed in the previous posts under “Media Access”, rural areas in Morocco are often excluded from Internet networks and coverage. Many rural inhabitants cannot access the internet because Internet providers focus on establishing networks in urban areas, which causes a huge gap in access between two different halves of the country.
References:
http://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/internet-penetration/15438
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/morocco/rural-population-wb-data.html
Cyber Cafes in Libya (Post 4)
Cyber Cafes –often referred to as Internet Cafes– in Libya first emerged in the late 1990’s after the Internet was expanded from exclusively state institutions to the public. Shortly after the year 2000, this new Internet industry took off and thousands of cyber cafes emerged, making the internet more accessible and available for its people than it was before. The price of the Internet decreased, and Cyber Cafe’s browsing price was relatively low at 1LYD ($0.75) and hour –which even further decreased prior to the 2011 uprising. Between 2004 and 2007, the Internet penetration rate rose from 4% to 17%, and this rise can be partly attributed to cyber cafes.
Example of Libyan Cyber Cafe:
Cyber cafes have done a lot to increase Internet access and availability by providing an outlet for people to access the Internet, but like many things there are drawbacks to these cafes. In 2009, Cyber cafe owners were required to sign contracts with Libyan authorities to monitor the content to which people could access, and special monitoring software was installed. However, before these contracts were established in 2009, there were other means to censor the internet in cyber cafes. In 2003, a code of conduct was enacted, instructing cyber cafes to place stickers by each computer that warned cyber cafe customers not to visit websites that negatively impacted “national security” and “public morals”. The purpose of these warnings were to promote self-censorship through fear and limit access from opposition websites, and “cyber dissidents” were often arrested and imprisoned.
Accessibility and surveillance of cyber cafes have changed over the years, but arguably one of the biggest changes came in 2012 after the civil war. Beginning in February 2011, months-long periods of internet shutdown began and Internet connectivity that did exist was poor . Also, from December 2011 to February 2012 parts of Libya experienced blackouts, and without electricity internet connectivity was impossible. As a result, the cyber cafe industry was decimated ad by the beginning of 2012, most people accessed the internet through other means (such as their homes and workplaces).
All in all, cyber cafes were initially established to open up media/internet access, but the events of the past decade have limited these cafe’s impact. Also, despite the fact that Cyber Cafes initially did a lot to improve infrastructure and internet accessibility, problems of accessibility have always existed in Libya because the cost of home internet connection is (and has been) out of reach for many Libyans.
References:
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2012/libya#.VIYYsIfD82d
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/common/0/0b/Analfabetismo2013unesco.png
Cell Phone Use Among Moroccan Students (Post 5)
Much like in the United States, cell phone users are beginning to reach a much younger audience than ever before. Recently, Morocco has increased its use of mobile phones and, as stated in the Technological Factors blog post, Morocco’s mobile phone penetration rate has risen to 119.7%. However, with this increasing usage of mobile phones there are downsides, specifically regarding the distraction they cause in school.
According to an article written by Yassir Yousfi at Morocco World News, it has become common to see little kids using phones like adults, where they can send SMS, take pictures, use Bluetooth, watch videos, and download music — often times without parental supervision. Not only does this lack of parental supervision cause a “harmful problem” for these children in general according to Yousfi, but these mobile phone activities are occurring during class and school hours.
The Moroccan Board of Education bans the use of cell phones during school hours, but many students ignore this policy. With kids increasingly using cell phones in school, it is making it harder for teachers to reach and educate their students. As stated by Khadija –a teacher interviewed by Yousfi–:
“We are really suffering in each class from the use of cell phones among students, and this problem begins in first grade and extends until university. No sooner do I enter to the classroom and start explaining the lesson than a student is already listening to music on his phone, chatting with his friends inside or outside the classroom or, what is worse, watching video of nudity with his classmates. You can imagine I find this incredibly disturbing, as do the students who are actually in class to learn!”
Though cell phones in general provide better media access to the people of Morocco, there are many downsides as well. Much like in the United States, mobile phones often serve as a distraction in school and hinder the learning of not only the cell phone users, but the classmates that are there and ready to learn.
References:
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2014/05/131303/cell-phone-use-among-students-progress-or-pandemic/
It was interesting to see how low the literacy rate is in Libya after seeing how the internet has started increasing in the media structure section. But it’s interesting to see how many people there own a mobilized phone for communication purposes only though. But compared to the United States, we use 3G and 4G because the cost really isn’t a factor but over in other countries like Libya they don’t use smart phones because the cost is too much for them. In Morocco, I wasn’t that surprised to see the literacy rate being higher for the younger generation. As I compared it again to the United States, I noticed how the literacy rate is also higher for the younger generation because schooling is more and more enforced on kids to get a higher education in order to have good job.
I found it really fascinating to learn about internet access in Libya and Morocco because this hasn’t been focused on nearly as much as in some other presentations. I think it’s interesting how in Libya, people primarily access their internet in public and in Morocco, many rural areas simply do not have access to internet. This is quite different than here in the U.S. where nearly everyone is connected to the internet almost 24/7 on their cell phones, tablets and laptops.