Becoming an Internet User in Bułgaria: Notes on a Tangled Journey

Maria Bakardjieva

This paper stems from a project that seeks to implement a historically informed, broad-based ethnographic approach to the evolution of the Internet as a communication medium in the societies of Central and Eastern Europe. The findings of an intensive field study carried out in Bulgaria form the main focus of the paper. The paper analyses the specific use practices of different categories of users in the context of the circumstances characterizing the penetration of the Internet in Bulgaria. In that country, a major driving force behind the adoption of the Internet is the desire to integrate into the "developed world" educationally, economically and culturally. One of the most interesting observations to be discussed is the existence of two distinct cultures surrounding Internet adoption and use - the official and the grassroots. The official one is defined by administrative goals and efforts to meet the standards set by the European Union despite numerous national challenges of political, organizational and technical nature. The grassroots culture, on the other hand, is vibrant, subversive, resourceful and devious. It draws on the abundance of computer expertise among Bulgarian professionals and youth in building its own, original, enclaves in cyberspace.

KEYWORDS

Central and Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, Internet and everyday life, ethnographic research