Unequal and Heterogeneous Connectivity in Indigenous Communities of Sierra Norte de Puebla (Mexico)

Abstract

Indigenous people are more and more using information and communication technologies, but multiple disadvantages and exclusions make their access reinforce relations of inequality. Amidst these relations, community life keeps reorganizing itself. This work socio-historically approaches ITC access through the description of places and people linked to digital technologies in Sierra Norte de Puebla (Mexico). It is highlighted that internet connection, besides being unequal, become heterogeneous through the interaction between people and digital resources. Of special importance in that process are the characteristics of technologies, but even more important are the role of people who facilitate access to them and the local dynamics of communities with shared values and community meanings.