MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR 5.3 Use of mobile data services Mobile internet service and mobile internet application use (or data service use) in Myanmar is low. Thirty-four percent of mobile owners currently use at least one data service (internet via a browser or apps, including social media, calling and chat applications, etc.) on their mobile phone, despite 66% already owning a smartphone. Usage was limited to a few apps; over half of these data service users only used between one and three types of services, according to the national survey. This was slightly more common among female (59%) than male (52%) data service users. The qualitative research indicates that most had first experienced the internet by friends and family showing them. 5.3.1 Digital skills and mobile literacy MOBILE PHONES, INTERNET, AND GENDER IN MYANMAR Figure 17 Source: GSMA Digital Inclusion, GSMA Connected Women, and Dalberg Global Development Advisors (2015) Stages of digital literacy in using a mobile device TRADITIONAL LITERACY BASIC MOBILE LITERACY Reading, writing, numeracy Use of voice on phone MOBILE TECHNICAL LITERACY MOBILE INTERNET LITERACY Use of features such as calendar, calculator, camera and text (SMS, USSD), in addition to voice Ability to search for content via internet browser and apps Research on digital literacy barriers by the GSMA Digital Inclusion and Connected Women programmes has created a framework for assessing digital skills, including mobile internet literacy (see Figure 17). Digital literacy is defined in stages, with literacy in the traditional sense (reading, writing, numeracy) coming first, followed by basic mobile literacy, and so on. For mobile internet literacy, five functional and necessary skills are defined:46 Set-up, Search and Navigate, Consume and Evaluate, Create and Share, and Configure and Manage. The GSMA research found that mobile data service users require these skills to learn how to navigate mobile internet and discover new services or applications (e.g. to access a browser or an application store), and to use specific services and applications (e.g. within Facebook).47 In general, it seems that many female and male qualitative respondents were stuck in the basic mobile literacy stage, needing help even to make a call, especially rural respondents. One issue was that many female owners were not present at the time of purchase and did not get an ‘introduction’ to the mobile at the shop (as men tend to do), so they relied on relatives and friends who are already owners (see also Section 5.1.3). Many (including female non-owners) feared they could damage the phone when experimenting with it. This concern has limited their exploration of phone functionalities and internet possibilities. Language was another barrier that restricted trial and investigation. Respondents who knew English were better educated and had no usage barriers. According to the survey, 80% of mobile owners had handsets with a camera, while just 18% (19% of male and 18% of female mobile owners) share photos ADVANCED MOBILE INTERNET LITERACY Access, create, navigate, and consume online content on a range of digital devices 1 SET-UP 2 SEARCH & NAVIGATE 3 CONSUME & EVALUATE 4 CREATE & SHARE 5 CONFIGURE & MANAGE and other content using their phone. The qualitative respondents indicated that taking photos (one of the elements of ‘technical’ literacy) was one of their favourite non-internet pastimes, however, many did not know how to post a photo online. Respondents who used data services possessed some elements of all the mobile internet literacy skills, suggesting a non-linear progression up the skills ladder. For example, some were able to block unwanted contacts on Viber or BeeTalk (Stage 5 of mobile internet literacy), but were unlikely to be able to create and share content (Stage 4). Table 8 provides some of the relevant findings under each level, although it should be emphasised that these are based on qualitative research protocols with a purposely (thus non-random) selected group of mobile users in two locations in Myanmar. Without a larger quantitative dataset, a detailed assessment of digital literacy cannot be made. 46. GSMA Digital Inclusion, GSMA Connected Women, and Dalberg Global Development Advisors (2015) 47. Annex 1 provides detailed descriptions of what is included in the five stages. 52 53