43 Geographica Pannonica • Volume 21, Issue 1, 43–53 (March 2017) Tatjana Stojanović A , Ivana Penjišević B *, Tamara Lukić C , Jelena Živković D Received: November 23, 2016 | Revised: December 14, 2016 | Accepted: March 19, 2017 DOI: 10.18421/GP21.01-04 Computer literacy of young people in Serbia and regional differences A “Veljko Petrović” High School, 25000 Sombor, Serbia; tatjanagea@gmail.com B University of Priština temporary situated in Kosovska Mitrovica, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Geography, Lole Ribara 29, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Tel.: 0038166-800-64-67, Serbia; ivanasocanac@yahoo.com C University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia; snstamara@yahoo.com, D University of Niš, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics,Višegradska 33, 15000 Niš, Serbia; zivkovic.s.jelena@gmail.com * Corresponding author: Ivana Penjišević, e-mail: ivanasocanac@yahoo.com ISSN 0354-8724 (hard copy) | ISSN 1820-7138 (online) Abstract The purpose of the paper is highlighted phenomenon of computer self-literate. Research confrmed that the school infuence is not meritorious for computer literacy. Analysis of statistical data about comput- er literacy of the young in Serbia has found the regional differences in number, gender and age struc- ture. Attitudes were formed in function to describe the opinions of young about this phenomenon. Four hundred young from different parts of Serbia gave the opinion about the importance, overcoming, ex- pansion, consequence, future development of computer self literacy. Results of research represent con- tribution knowledge about characteristics of young in Serbia on the beginning of the 21stcentury and they can be used for interregional comparison. Keywords: computer literacy, region, Serbia, the young, regional differences Introduction Following the computer literacy in Serbia started by Census of 2011. It was defned as capability of person to use the basic computer applications for doing eve- ryday tasks. Regarding that were gathered data if the person knows how to do processing of text, make ta- bles, sends and receives e-mails as well as if the person knows to use Internet (RZS, 2013). Te greatest part of the young in Serbia, from 15 and 29 years, during their schooling had not this kind of becoming literate. Ac- cording to received data, there are 88.4% of the young in Serbia who are computer literate. It shows the ex- istence of self-literate phenomenon. It was possible because computer literacy starts with classic literacy. Besides, one of the most important aims of the idea about appliance of electronic literacy was the mass. It was possible to be achieved only by making sofware programs which everybody could easily overcome. Te aim of the paper is to show how much the young were focused on computer literacy and their attitude about its importance, overcoming, expanding and fu- ture development. In addition, their education period ‘corresponds’ to the time of mass appearance of com- puters in Serbia. In the future, statistics will monitor computer literacy as one of the characteristics of the population. Terefore we can say that this paper rep- resents one of the frst-born of research of this type in Serbia. Theoretical background and Previous Research In the world of highly developed technology, frst of all, literacy refers to ‘computer literacy’, respectively, ca- pability to fnd out, learn and interpret in the world of multimedia messages by new multimedia language which includes not only written word, speech, but also sound and picture (Matović, 2011). Computer litera-