The social phenomena and relationships that are built in the online world reflect everyday life and the broader social structures we belong to. Nevertheless, the new media off er some innovations in the intimate places of our families. On the one hand, these innovations change our domestic space, but on the other hand the response to these innovations is always determined by existing relations within and outside of family life. In light of this paradox, this paper analyses the issue of technologization of everyday life by addressing the changes that the new media create in the relationships between public and private. Within this discussion, the focus is placed on the new circumstances and demands of the recent "digitally mediated childhood" that especially challenge those generations that experience their own everyday lives through and with the help of digital technologies. The last part of the paper presents the findings of a representative survey of Slovenian internet users. First it shows the structural differences between technologically equipped households where education and gender seem to have an important impact. Then specific characteristics of online Slovenian culture are presented, whereby the paper seeks to answer three questions: how do internet users themselves perceive internet eff ects in everyday life and how are these changes aff ected by age and gender? Why do users use this technology and what spaces do young users prefer to visit? Finally, to what extent are the internet experiences in younger generations determined by their educational aspirations?
|
