Table 2.
Results on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) found in free list interviews in Germany, Sweden and Egypt (each N = 20).
| Number (n) and percentage of coding references per country | |||||||
| Germany | Sweden | Egypt | |||||
| FREQUENTLY USED ICTs | |||||||
| Devices | |||||||
| 1 | Smartphones | 14 | (70%) | 10 | (50%) | 9 | (45%) |
| 2 | Laptops | 6 | (30%) | 1 | (5%) | 2 | (10%) |
| Software | |||||||
| 1 | 6 | (30%) | 13 | (65%) | 20 | (100%) | |
| 2 | 14 | (70%) | 19 | (95%) | 16 | (80%) | |
| 3 | Viber | – | – | 8 | (40%) | 14 | (70%) |
| 4 | IMO messenger | – | – | 2 | (10%) | 12 | (60%) |
| 5 | YouTube | 7 | (35%) | 1 | (5%) | 8 | (40%) |
| 6 | Banking apps | – | – | 6 | (35%) | – | – |
| 7 | Official government service apps | – | – | 9 | (45%) | – | – |
| FREQUENT PROBLEMS WITH ICTs | |||||||
| 1 | High costs of mobile internet | – | – | 1 | (5%) | 14 | (70%) |
| 2 | No access to landlines | – | – | – | – | 10 | (50%) |
| 3 | Low technical literacy | 5 | (25%) | 10 | (50%) | 8 | (40%) |
| 4 | Bad mobile internet access/coverage | 7 | (35%) | – | – | 6 | (30%) |
| 5 | High costs of smartphones | – | – | – | – | 5 | (25%) |
| 6 | Language barrier | 8 | (40%) | 7 | (35%) | 5 | (25%) |
| MEANS TO IMPROVE THE USE OF ICTs | |||||||
| 1 | Increasing the technical literacy | 6 | (30%) | 7 | (35%) | 9 | (45%) |
| 2 | Providing easier internet access | 4 | (20%) | 1 | (5%) | 8 | (40%) |
| 3 | Reducing the costs of mobile internet | – | – | 1 | (5%) | 5 | (25%) |
| 4 | Providing versions in Arabic | 7 | (35%) | 3 | (15%) | 2 | (10%) |
Participants were asked to respond for the Syrian community as a whole and not on the basis of individual preferences or problems.