Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2006, Page 64

Intemet Chatting in the Faroe Islands
New forms of communication among young people
Kjatt á alnetinum í Føroyum
Nýggir samskiftishættir hjá ungdómi
Firouz Gaini
Institute of History and Social Sciences, University of the Faroe Islands, J.C. Svabosgøta 7,
FO-IOO Tórshavn, Faroe Islands. Email: firouz@setur.fo
Úrtak
At nýta alnetið til kjatt hevurseinastu árini vunnið størri
og størri útbreiðslu millum bøm og ung í Føroyum eins
og í flest øllum øðrum evropeiskum londum. Kjattment-
anin hjá ungum í Føroyum er merkt av heimligari til-
laging av alheims kunningar- og samskiftistøkni. Tað
almennið, sum serliga vcrður sett í samband við tað pre-
modemaða samfelagið, rísur upp aftur í nýggjum hami
í cybcrspace: kjattsamskiftið verður ikki stýrt av tí borg-
arliga almenninum; tað er frælst og beinleiðis samskifti,
leyst av teimum mentanarligu og politisku elitunum í
samfelagnum. Henda greinin byggir á kanningararbeiði
millum føroysk ungfólk 2003-04 og miðar eftir at dag-
føra tað heimliga kjakið um miðlar frá 1980’unum og
1990’unum út frá tilvisingum til nýggj granskingarúrslit
úr ymsum londum.
Abstract
The use of internet for chatting has during the last years
gained extensive popularity among children and young
peoplc in thc Faroe Islands as in most othcr European
countries. The youth chat culture of the Faroe Islands
is characterised by local adaptation of global techno-
logies of information and communication. The revival
of the popular public sphere, which used to be associated
with pre-modcrn society, is obvious in cyberspace: chat
communication is not ruled by any “bourgcois” public
sphere; it is free direct communication uncontrolled by
the cultural or political elites of society. This article is
based on fteldwork among Faroese youth 2003-04 and
aims to elaborate and update the local media debate of
the 1980s and 1990s with reference to new research
results from different countrics.
Introduction
This article is based on data gathered in
2002-04 as part of my PhD project in an-
thropology. The material used in the text is
a combination of qualitative and quantita-
tive data from many sources but mostly from
the internet (websites and chat-channels),
semi-structured interviews among young
people in Torshavn, questionnaires distrib-
uted at lower-secondary schools, and Faro-
ese newspapers. Young people’s chat culture
and general forms of social communication
is a fteld of research that regularly needs
updating, because of the continuous changes
in youth cultures and lifestyles as well as
technological developments within the com-
munication and information sector. There-
fore, this article may seem partly ‘outdated’
Fróðskaparrit 54. bók 2006: 62-70