Virtually competent? Competence and experience with Internet-based technologies among European parliamentarians

Issue title: Use of ICT by Members of Parliament

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Elvebakk, Beate^a

Affiliations: [a] Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo, Postboks 1108, Blindern, N-0317 Oslo, Norway. E-mail: [email protected] | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | Oxford Internet Institute, UK | University of Klagenfurt, Austria | I.S.C.T.E., Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract: This article tries to determine the levels of experience and competence with the Internet among MPs in seven European countries, and to provide explanations for the differences found. The main objective of the article is to see whether the kinds of experience and skills that the MPs possess serve as a basis for important structural changes in the European democracies. Unsurprisingly, the survey shows that MPs in Northern Europe tend to use the Internet more than their colleagues in the South. The MPs also mostly use the Internet as replacement for other technologies, such as telephones and fax-machines, but a more innovative pattern of use may be found among Scottish and Danish MPs. The MPs are generally self-taught when it comes to Internet skills, and their competence is therefore linked to personal interest and previous careers rather than to such factors as political allegiance. Most of them see their competence as being satisfactory, although not outstanding. The article also discusses possible implications of electronic competence or lack thereof for the future of representative democracies.

DOI: 10.3233/IP-2004-0043

Journal: Information Polity, vol. 9, no. 1-2, pp. 41-53, 2004