‘Just having a computer doesn’t make sense’: The digital divide from the perspective of mothers with a low socio-economic position

an article by Nicole S Goedhart and Jacqueline EW Broerse (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Rolinka Kattouw (Oostwest, The Netherlands) and Christine Dedding (Amsterdam UMC, The Netherlands) published in New Media & Society Volume 21 Issue 11-2 (November 2019)

Abstract

The introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been shown to play a role in reinforcing existing social inequalities.

This study aims to gain insights into the perspectives, experiences and needs of disadvantaged groups with respect to ICT. In the Netherlands, a relatively large and important group of non-users are mothers with a low socio-economic position (SEP). Little attention has been paid to understanding why mothers with a low SEP scarcely use ICTs.

In an explorative participatory study in Amsterdam, using observations, interviews and focus groups, our results show that reinforcing factors related to poverty, motherhood, the complexity of ICT and being first-generation immigrant influence access.

The mothers’ needs are multifaceted and go beyond the simple distribution of ICT devices. ICT education should be tailored and integrated into existing social services and the daily lives of the mothers. Moreover, policymakers should pay attention to adapting the online information services to the mothers’ strengths.

Full text (PDF 19pp)

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Internet use in the home: Digital inequality from a domestication perspective

an article by Anique J Scheerder, Alexander JAM van Deursen and Jan AGM van Dijk (University of Twente, The Netherlands) published in New Media & Society Volume 21 Issue 10 (October 2019)

Abstract

This study uses a domestication approach to digital inequality. The aim is to uncover whether and why less-educated families benefit less from Internet use than highly educated families.

The predominantly quantitative approach of digital divide research provides little explanation as to why digital inequalities exist.

Interviews were conducted with the heads of 48 Dutch families.

The results showed that Internet use and routines in the home are shaped differently for families with different educational backgrounds.

In all four phases of domestication, the highly educated demonstrated a critical view toward the Internet, resulting in considered use and redefinition.

Less-educated members tended to be less interested in Internet developments and overall have a less reflective stance. Inequalities between different social strata already arise in the early stages of domestication and are magnified in the subsequent phases.

Full text (PDF 20pp)

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Designing and Using Digital Mental Health Interventions for Older Adults: Being Aware of Digital Inequality

an article by Alexander Seifert (University of Zurich, Switzerland; University of Cologne, Germany) and Dominique Alexandra Reinwand and Anna Schlomann (University of Cologne, Germany) published by Frontiers in Psychiatry

Background

Worldwide, approximately 15% of the people older than 60 suffer from a mental disorder, such as depression and anxiety disorders (1). A total of 322 million people worldwide are affected. The prevalence rates vary by age and peaks in older adults (2). Modern devices, such as smart phones and tablets, can be used to provide digital interventions for various health-related issues.

Digital interventions are promising in their ability to provide researchers, medical practitioners, and patients with a dynamic and individualizable tool for assessing behavior and behavioral change, consultation, treatment, and integrated care. These digital interventions can help patients manage their diseases or their general health as a form of disease prevention. This is particularly important in older people, as individuals often have to deal with highly complex interactions involved in managing their daily lives along with the consequences of a multitude of chronic diseases (3).

Digital interventions can, for example, assess, control, and positively influence mental health and well-being among older patients (4). Particularly with regard to mental health, digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) appear to close a gap in healthcare provision. Many patients with mental health problems have to wait a long time to get an appointment for initial counseling or therapy; in rural areas, older patients may face long travel distances, and many people are still afraid of stigmatization and avoid therapy completely (5). Reviews and meta-analyses have shown the benefits of DMHIs, for example, for people with depression and anxiety (6–8).

While DMHIs are becoming more important and popular, there exists a danger that older people will be excluded. When not comfortable with new technologies, older adults can experience barriers to accessing DMHIs, which might result in larger healthcare inequalities (9). This can happen if only already-advantaged populations use and benefit from these interventions. Therefore, this article will outline and discuss the problems in this field and make recommendations for future developments.

Full text (Downloadable PDF 4pp)

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Culture is digital: Cultural participation, diversity and the digital divide

an article by Sabina Mihelj, Adrian Leguina and John Downey (Loughborough University, UK) published in New Media & Society Volume 21 Issue 7 (July 2019)

Abstract

Digital media are seen as important instruments of increasing participation and diversity in arts and culture.

To examine whether this view is justified, this article draws on two bodies of research that have hitherto remained disconnected: research on cultural participation and research on the digital divide.

Building on these insights, the article examines the Taking Part Survey data on digital media and cultural participation in the United Kingdom between 2005/2006 and 2015/2016, focusing on museums and galleries.

While the results confirm that digital media provide an important means of engaging new audiences, they also show that the engagement with museums and galleries both online and offline remains deeply unequal. Most worryingly, the gaps between the haves and the have-nots are even wider online than in the case of physical visits. Rather than helping increase the diversity of audiences, online access seems to reproduce, if not enlarge, existing inequalities.

Hazel’s comment:
Any thinking person could have told us about this but it is good to have an academic study to confirm that those who are excluded now will remain excluded!

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Inequalities in the social use of the Internet of things: A capital and skills perspective

an article by Alex van dIssue 6 (June 2019)er Zeeuw, Alexander JAM van Deursen and Giedo Jansen (University of Twente, The Netherlands) published in New Media & Society Volume 21 (June 2019)

Abstract

In this article, we set out to explain different types of social uses of the Internet of Things (IoT) using forms of capital and Internet skills.

We argue that the IoT platform entices different manners of social communication that are easily overlooked when focusing on the novelty of smart “things.”

How people use the IoT socially is crucial in trying to understand how people create, maintain, or absolve social relations in a networked society. We find inversed effects for social capital, income and education on private use, and on sharing IoT data with a partner. Sharing with acquaintances and strangers is predicted by cultural activities.

Sharing IoT data with acquaintances can especially be attributed to social relations that escape the immediate household. We conclude that varying figurations of capital and Internet skills predict how the IoT is used socially.

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Engendering inclusive e-government use through citizen IT training programs

an article by Jae Bok Lee (Korea Institute of Public Administration, South Korea) and Gregory A.Porumbescu (Rutgers University, Newark, USA) published in Government Information Quarterly Volume 36 Issue 1 (January 2019)

Highlights

• Citizen participation in IT training is positively associated with e-government use.
• This relationship is strongest for citizens who are elderly or disabled.
• These findings indicate IT training helps mitigate the digital divide.

Abstract

Around the world, governments turn to information technology (IT) training programs to enhance equitable delivery of online public services to citizens.

However, the effectiveness of these citizen training programs has gone unexplored.

This study is motivated by two objectives:

1. To evaluate whether citizen participation in government training programs is associated with greater e-government use among participants, and
2. To assess whether the strength of this relationship varies according to whether a citizen is elderly, disabled, or not – those who are elderly or disabled tend to use e-government the least.

We use data from South Korean to examine these objectives. Findings indicate citizen participation in government IT training programs is positively associated with e-government use and that this relationship is stronger for citizens who are elderly or disabled.

These findings highlight the potential of government IT training programs to mitigate the digital divide. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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Equal access to online information? Google’s suicide-prevention disparities may amplify a global digital divide

an article by Sebastian Scherr (University of Leuven, Belgium) and Mario Haim and Florian Arendt (University of Munich (LMU), Germany) published in New Media & Society Volume 21 Issue 3 (March 2019)

Abstract

Worldwide, people profit from equally accessible online health information via search engines. Therefore, equal access to health information is a global imperative.

We studied one specific scenario, in which Google functions as a gatekeeper when people seek suicide-related information using both helpful and harmful suicide-related search terms.

To help prevent suicides, Google implemented a “suicide-prevention result” (SPR) at the very top of such search results. While this effort deserves credit, the present investigation compiled evidence that the SPR is not equally displayed to all users.

Using a virtual agent-based testing methodology, a set of 3 studies in 11 countries found that the presentation of the SPR varies depending on where people search for suicide-related information.

Language is a key factor explaining these differences. Google’s algorithms thereby contribute to a global digital divide in online health-information access with possibly lethal consequences. Higher and globally balanced display frequencies are desirable.

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Contextualizing connectivity: how internet connection type and parental factors influence technology use among lower-income children

an article by Vikki S. Katz and Katherine Ognyanova (Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA) and Meghan B. Moran (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA) published in Information, Communication & Society Volume 22 Issue 3 (2019)

Abstract

This project links research on digital inequality, which focuses on connection quality and its outcomes for under-connected individuals, and parental mediation, which focuses on the influence of parents on children’s technology experiences.

We examine the internet connection type used by families, the technology experiences of lower-income parents, and their perceptions of opportunities that technology use offers their children. We then determine how these factors influence the frequency and scope of their school-age children’s technology use.

Findings show that contextualizing children’s connectivity to account for infrastructural, socio-demographic, and relational influences provides new insights into the technology experiences of lower-income children. One set of findings suggests that direct benefit from increased connectivity is most evident for lower-income parents – those with the lowest household incomes, lowest levels of education, and whose dominant language is not English.

These effects remain after controlling for other socio-demographic factors. The second set of results shows that greater connectivity increases how frequently both children and parents use the internet, but is associated only with a greater scope of internet activities for parents.

Parents’ online activity scope is important for their children’s online experiences, directly predicting the scope of their online activities. High-scope parents were also significantly more likely to see digital opportunities in their children’s internet use, which in turn also predicted more frequent and broader internet use by their children. We conclude by considering the practical implications of these findings for digital equity initiatives targeting lower-income families.

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Cultural divides and digital inequalities: attitudes shaping Internet and social media divides

an article by William H Dutton and Bianca C Reisdorf (Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA) published in Information, Communication & Society Volume 22 Issue 1 (January 2019)

Abstract

Researchers on digital divides have identified demographic and attitudinal factors associated with inequalities in access, skills, and patterns of Internet use, primarily around age, income, and education. While the attitudes and values of Internet users and non-users have been studied over the years, they have rarely been used to identify broader ‘cultures of the Internet’ and their role in shaping digital divides.

This paper builds on research in Britain, which focused on patterns of attitudes underpinning Internet cultures, to explore the degree that similar or distinctive cultures have developed in the USA, and whether and how they are useful in explaining digital divides.

This study utilizes original data drawn from a telephone survey of residents across the State of Michigan that adapted survey items and methods from the Oxford Internet Survey of Britain.

Based on these survey responses, the paper identifies and describes the cultures of the Internet among Michigan residents, as an exploratory case of the US as a whole, and shows how these cultures shape digital divides in Internet access and social media use. The robustness and explanatory power of these explorations of Internet cultures argue for further research on the United States and for comparative research with other nations.

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A review of Internet use among older adults

an article by Amanda Hunsaker and Eszter Hargittai (University of Zurich, Switzerland) published in New Media & Society Volume 20 Issue 10 (October 2018)

Abstract

As the world population ages and older adults comprise a growing proportion of current and potential Internet users, understanding the state of Internet use among older adults as well as the ways their use has evolved may clarify how best to support digital media use within this population.

This article synthesizes the quantitative literature on Internet use among older adults, including trends in access, skills, and types of use, while exploring social inequalities in relation to each domain.

We also review work on the relationship between health and Internet use, particularly relevant for older adults.

We close with specific recommendations for future work, including a call for studies better representing the diversity of older adulthood and greater standardization of question design.

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The identity curation game: digital inequality, identity work, and emotion management

an article by Laura Robinson (Santa Clara University, USA) published in Information, Communication & Society Volume 21 Issue 5 (May 2018)

Abstract

The research examines an understudied facet of digital inequality: how digital inequality impacts identity work and emotion management.

The analysis reveals how unequal access to digital resources shapes how well youths are able to play what I call the identity curation game.

Digital resources determine youths’ ability to succeed in this game that is governed by three implicit rules:

1. constantly update or be sidelined,
2. engage in constant reciprocated identity-affirming interactions, and
3. maintain a strategy of vigilance to remove traces of failed identity performances.

This article draws on Symbolic Interactionism and pays particular attention to Hochschild’s theory of emotion management.

Drawing on these frameworks, the findings reveal how under-resourced youths experience connectivity gaps that disrupt their ability to play the identity curation game, as well as the resulting emotional consequences. Under-resourced youths manage distinctive negative emotions arising from connectivity gaps that hinder their digital identity work, as well as engaging in distinct kinds of suppressive work to police their own emotions including longing, envy, shame, frustration, and stigmatization.

In making these linkages, the research reveals the cascading effects of digital inequality among youths where constant connectivity is the sine qua non of social inclusion.

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Inequality in mobilizing online help after a negative life event: the role of education, digital skills, and capital-enhancing Internet use

an article by Erik van Ingen (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and Uwe Matzat (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands) published in Information, Communication & Society Volume 21 Issue 4 (April 2018)

Abstract

Many studies have investigated inequalities in coping with stressful life events and often education is found to play a role in this (the higher educated are usually more successful in dealing with their problems in terms of well-being consequences).

We examine whether something similar occurs on the Internet, whether the higher educated are more successful in mobilizing help online, and whether this is related to their digital skills and the way in which they use the Internet. With the latter, we link online coping to digital inequality research.

Researchers have investigated digital inequalities with regard to skills and types of Internet use. However, we know little about the extent to which these factors translate into inequalities in resources mobilized from the Internet. This latter type of inequality is highly relevant, since it is an intermediary step between Internet use and (improved) well-being and life chances.

Using a large sample of individuals living in the Netherlands, we find educational differences in the mobilization of online problem-focused coping resources, but no differences with regard to online socioemotional or disengagement coping resources. The educational inequalities in online coping are somewhat smaller than educational inequalities in offline coping, leading to remarkable consequences for social policy.

Furthermore, we find a relatively complex pattern of interrelations between offline inequality (education) and different types of digital inequality (skills, usage, resources).

In our conclusions we make a plea for more research on outcomes of Internet use and we discuss the implications of our findings for further research.

Full text (PDF 19pp)

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Racial projections: cyberspace, public space, and the digital divide

an article by Genevieve G. Carpio (University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA) published in Information, Communication & Society Volume 21 Issue 2 (2018)

Abstract

Scholars of critical race studies, urban history, and information and communications technologies (ICTs) share an interest in the relationship between spatial and racial disparities, including the quality of basic infrastructure, degrees of connectivity, and participatory culture.

However, contemporary research on the digital divide struggles to link historical legacies of uneven development, as well as social justice strategies, with digital participation in urban spaces. By examining contemporary digital art that critiques the spatial inequalities encountered by U.S. racial minorities, this article illustrates how public intellectuals use ICTs in ways that draw upon past strategies to territorialize space for political ends.

It focuses on digital pop-ups, open-air installations that cast images onto public space using projectors. Historicizing these new efforts illustrates a continuity of tactics engaged by communities of color in response to socio-spatial inequalities in the urban United States, such as the 1970s mural movement’s efforts to re-politicize spaces of exclusion.

While existing literature finds that digital inequality results in differential digital human capital, this research indicates that place-based claims, such as digital pop-ups, are important sites for combatting racial injustice and creating more inclusionary spaces, especially among youth adults.

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The real digital divide?

an article in e-Access Bulletin (June 2017) linked to a report from the Good Things Foundation

'The real digital divide?' report breaks down the demographics of people who are not gaining full benefit from the internet – either because they’re complete non-users, or that they’re using the internet in a limited way - be it only using one site or a couple of apps, or going online less than once a week.

90% of non users are likely to be disadvantaged – which takes into account poor health and disability, social class and those who left school at 16 or under. We know basic digital skills is a big issue (18% of people say they aren’t online as they don’t have the skills), but it’s not the only measure of whether people are digitally excluded. Looking at usage helps us to show that digital exclusion is a much more complex issue.

For people to thrive in today’s increasingly digital world, using the internet on a regular basis and using the breadth of what’s on offer is vital. This might be to keep an eye your bank balance, check on the price of your utilities, or to find work. Most people in work are using the internet on a daily basis. If people aren’t using the internet weekly, they’re likely to be excluded in a range of ways – including having less money available, fewer opportunities to find work, and less access to information that might make their lives better – such as health information, information to help their children with their homework, and more. So the way people are using the internet – how much and how often – is vital to understand whether they’re really getting the benefit they could be.

Full text (PDF 22pp)

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Have we finally bridged the digital divide? Smart phone and Internet use patterns by race and ethnicity

an article by Robert W. Fairlie (University of California, Santa Cruz) published in First Monday Volume 22 Number 9 (September 2017)

Abstract

Two decades ago an influential article documented the alarming disparities that existed in access to computers and the Internet between African-Americans and whites (Hoffman and Novak, 1998).

Using the latest U.S. Census Bureau/Bureau of Labor Statistics data on computer and Internet access, I find that the “digital divide” has not been bridged and remains as large as it was two decades ago.

African-Americans and Latino-Americans are less likely to use the Internet on smart phones, computer, tablets or other devices than are whites.

A statistical decomposition analysis reveals that income and education inequalities are the leading causes of the disparities in access to technology. The findings have implications for policies that subsidize broadband to low-income families.

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I doubt that the patterns are much different in the UK although I would expect the divide to be age- and income-based rather than race- or ethnicity-based.

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Down the Universal Credit rabbit hole - what happened when East Lothian changed benefits systems

an article in New Statesman by Martin Whitfield, the Labour MP for East Lothian

Please just go and read it for yourself as I can't decide where to start or stop in bringing it to you.

My reaction is that this system is:

• hateful
• hurtful
• harmful
• hazardous, and many other such words but they are not alliterative.

I am so ashamed to admit that I used to work “on the other side of the counter” because people equate me with the minions in the Jobcentres who now do little to help and a great deal to hinder. Do I blame them? No, they are doing as they are told but it's a sad day when helping people is wrong.

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Being old in an always-on culture: Older people’s perceptions and experiences of online communication

an article by Marika Lüders (University of Oslo, Norway) and Edith Roth Gjevjon (Diakonova University College, Oslo, Norway and University of Oslo, Norway) published in The Information Society: An International Journal Volume 33 Issue 2 (2017)

Abstract

Research on the digital divide has moved beyond connectivity to skills and usage disparities. Yet for many older people lack of connectivity remains a challenge, and for those who do have access, skills and usage remain an issue.

We report findings of an in-depth qualitative study of older people's perceptions of online communications and also their actual experiences.

Findings indicate that older people who are already socially well connected benefit from online communication more than those who are not.

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The Limits of Technology: Social class, occupation and digital inclusion in the city of Sunderland, England

an article by John Clayton and Stephen J. Macdonald (University of Sunderland, UK) published in Information, Communication & Society Volume 16 Issue 6 (2013)

Abstract

Drawing upon the concept of capital and its uneven distribution, as outlined by Bourdieu, the article highlights the importance of social class, occupational status and place in understanding how individuals and communities make use of and benefit from technology in their everyday lives.

Based upon quantitative and qualitative research conducted in the city of Sunderland, England, the article addresses the extent and manner to which those in ‘socially excluded’ areas of the city engage with technology, specifically personal computers and the internet and the impact of such engagement upon quality of life and social inclusion.

The research indicates that the manner in which technology is experienced by marginalised social groups in this place, does not fit neatly with a dominant discourse of digital inclusion which emphasises technology as a means for social inclusion, particularly in the realms of civic participation, educational achievement and employment.

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Beneath the ‘Digital Native’ myth: Understanding young Australians’ online time use

an article by Jonathan Smith, Zlatko Skrbis and Mark Western (The University of Queensland, Australia) published in Journal of Sociology Volume 49 Number 1 (March 2013)

Abstract

As young people’s internet use shapes their experiences of education, work and personal relationships, their portrayal as ‘Digital Natives’ suggests that they are invariably better positioned than preceding generations to capitalise on such changes.

Recent debates in internet use research undermine this view.

While acknowledging socio-demographic differences in use, theorists disagree as to whether these reflect disparities in internet access, processes of social stratification, or users’ rational assessment of risks and opportunities.

Incorporating these views, this article develops a framework for investigating differences in academic and social internet use by using data from 6,444 high school students in Queensland, Australia.

The results show that different factors structure students’ entry into these use pathways. Since social use depends on one’s home access context, remote students with poorer access spent less time on this activity, whereas students at independent and Catholic schools were heavier academic users, because they possessed the requisite academic orientation.

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The habitus of digital “strangers” in higher education

an article by Laura Czerniewicz and Cheryl Brown (University of Cape Town) published in British Journal of Educational Technology Volume 44 Issue 1 (January 2013)

Abstract

Research into South African students’ digitally mediated learning and social practices revealed a subgroup termed “digital strangers,” students lacking both experience and opportunities, who had barely used a computer and who did not have easy access to technology off campus.

Using a Bourdieun framework, this group’s technological habitus and access to capital were considered within the field of higher education.

There was a focus on two forms of cultural capital: embodied cultural capital, specifically disposition and values; and objectified cultural capital especially computers and cell phones.

Social capital – in terms of personal connections and the values of those close to the students – was also considered.

The investigation showed a complex technological habitus, with a paucity of access and limited practices in relation to computers, while computers and their associated practices are highly valued within higher education Simultaneously, diverse practices and widespread indications of astute use of cell phones were described even though these remained under-acknowledged both by the students and the institutions in which they operated.

Students recognised what the field of higher education valued, but they also used what they had available in order to best operate within the field. The findings point to a contradiction between students’ practices and the field of higher education yet also show how student practices with an alternative form of objectified capital are pushing the boundaries of the field itself.

Practitioner Notes

What is already known about this topic

• There is increasing agreement in the literature that the concept of students as “digital natives” with good access to and “innate” understanding of technology is a myth. Students across a range of contexts have varied skills, experience and interest in using technology.
• There is some research on the non-use of computers, but it does not tend to relate to mobile use.
• There is a great deal of recent literature on mobile use in education both in the UK and in South Africa. This is of special interest in developing country contexts where access to computers is still limited but access to the cell phone is widespread.

What the paper adds

• The paper makes the link between computer use and mobile use. By unpacking the complexities of technological habitus. it shows how students who lack computer experience and opportunities navigate the complexities of using information and communication technologies (ICTs) at university.
• The paper shows how Bourdieu’s theory of capital and habitus provides a useful lens for examining the challenges of ICT practices within the field of higher education. Through the concepts of cultural capital and social capital, the paper shows how students who would traditionally be considered non-users have access to forms of capital which they leverage, thus demonstrating student agency.
• The findings point to a contradiction between students’ practices and the field of higher education in that cell phones are widely used as a core ICT resource yet under-acknowledged as a medium of learning by universities. The paper does this by providing empirical examples of cases of complex access and use rarely studied.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• The findings for institutions imply that universities should take student access to and use of cell phones much more seriously, exploiting the cultural and social capitals student are able to draw on. This provides a way of focusing on existing literacies which is preferable to the deficit model which currently prevails.
• There are implications for curriculum, courses and resource designers in terms of designing learning interventions which utilise mobile technology affordances.

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