This paper examines the dynamics of access and exclusion in children’s Internet use, in
both private and public school spaces and interrogates the role of socioeconomic and
demographic predictors as well as the schooling system in shaping Internet habits. More
specifically, it explores the nature of Internet use by primary school children, mainly for
education and information and attempts to understand the differences across and within
two types of schools- a rural public school and an elite private school. Through in-depth
interviews, this research investigates the level of computer and Internet literacy among the
primary school children in the age group of 8-10 years and reports the differences observed
among the various social dimensions. It attempts to stress the significance and need in
today’s context to provide the opportunities for physical and material access so that
disadvantaged children are not excluded from the digital opportunities