Abstract
Introduction Digital technology is transforming the way we communicate, work, learn and live, but around 40% of the European population aged 16 - 74 years still lack basic digital skills (Eurostat, 2019). Statistical and quantitative data about digital technologies use exist both at the national level and for various social groups, but qualitative data on different aspects of digital technology competences and also knowledge transfer is lacking.
Global TechHelp Networks is an international study coordinated by the University of Illinois with participants from the United States, China, Norway, and other countries including the Czech Republic. It focuses on two main outcomes: the first goal is to find out the ways people help each other with digital technologies in different countries and cultural settings, and the second goal is to prove the feasibility of such a large scale study that includes both faculty and students as researchers (Williams-McWorter et al., 2019).
In our article we focus on the first goal, and we present the results of the Czech study. Methods The study was carried out using structured interviews.
The research instrument, which was originally created by US and Chinese collaborators, was translated into Czech. The questions ask participants to describe situations when the research participant was either receiving or providing help with some kind of digital technology.
Participants were also asked to reflect on the evolution of how they used technologies. The data was collected by a group of students using the snowball sampling method.
We collected responses from 20 research participants. The transcripts were entered into the ATLAS.ti program and coded using the open coding method.
Results Czech research participants generally feel that they have enough support with digital technologies. When they need help, they seek it from their friends or family, but they usually also have some other person with IT knowledge within reach.
Some participants expressed a need to keep their interaction with technologies under control. Conclusion The TechHelp study is an important first step in the development of knowledge in the field of "community informatics" (Williams, 2012) in the Czech Republic.
This paper contributes qualitative data that will help to clarify how people help each other with digital technologies, which can ultimately lead to the establishment of improved support for developing digital literacy at an informal level.