Use of the Internet and the Digital Divide Internet and Society 2010 James Stewart, University of Edinburgh

Use of the Internet and the Digital Divide

Internet and Society

2010James Stewart, University of Edinburgh

https://www.wiki.ed.ac.uk/display/IandS/

Outline

Adoption and AppropriationNon-useDesign for use Who uses the Internet?StatisticsSocial ExclusionDigital Divide

PolicyGlobal DD : Development, appropriation

Issues and Ideas

Diffusion and the s-curveStudying use and usersAppropriation and domesticationNon-usersDesign-use issues.

Social ExclusionDigital divide and social exclusionPolicy - ‘Digital participation’Global Digital divide

Diffusion and the S-curve

Groups of users Innovators, early

adopters, etcDemand-side:

Network effectsSupply side:

Economies of scaleS-curve limitNational differencesGender differencesGeneration of techs time

Market penetration

Internet Penetration

Adopter groups

Many studies suggesting different groups of adopters. E.g.Enthusiasts - innovatorsPragmatistsReluctantRejectors

Not a Binary division What factors underline these types of

categories?

Example of analysis

Adoption and Appropriation

How and why people adoptMotivations and resourcesVoluntary or obliged adoption

Why adopt and use innovations? (consumer research)

Functional: they do something practicalExperiental: they provide sensual pleasure Identity: products provide expression of self

identitySocial and individual context

Network effectsSome innovation have more use as more people have

them – slow to start, then much fast uptake a ‘inflection point’

Appropriation and Domestication

How technologies come into local settingsLearning

Formal, informal, learning by doing, community learning

Social processes Local experts, local economy, power

User innovationLimiting use, giving up use.Proxy use

Non-use of ICT

Why people don’t adopt“Not relevant”,”no use”“Too complicated”, “too

fiddly”Practical, experiential,

identity factors Physical / Cognitive

barriersSubjective reactionsNo resourcesNo motivation No community Constrained agency

The Enhanced Barrier Model

Resource Barriers No access, No money, No time or space,

No contact with technology Relevance Barriers Not relevant, No need, Not part of everyday

life, Other more important ways of using resources

Symbolic and Subjective Barriers Disapprove of technology or industry,

Dislike technology, Feel uncomfortable with ICT use, Ignore technology

Knowledge Barriers Do not know about the innovation, Do not

know how to adopt, how to use, how to cope with problems or how to innovate activities.

Non-user strategiesResistors, Delayers and Rejectors

How to overcome the barriers:‘Reduce the barriers’Need triggers to use

These come from other changes in life

Theory and Design

Excluded by designFeminist studies of technology designDesign for all

Keyboard, GUI, metaphors,

Excluded by policy

Use built from most engaging useSocial usesEntertainment

Social trends

Independent womenICT familiesWealthy young-oldConsumer Society

Network societyMega-CitiesMobility in work - work rationalisationMigrations

(reduced costs)

The case of the Internet

Use and non-useNon-organisational

SourcesOII report/World

Internet reportOfcomNational StatisticsScottish StatisticsPewEurescomMORI etcEurostatEurobarometer

Use of internet

USA 79% of adults (Pew May 10) 21%UK 70% (OxII 2009, Ofcom 2009, Nat stat 09))

30% non-users, 23% never users

US figures 2009

Frequent users (age groups_

Use at least once a week, last 3 months (eurostat 2009)

Eurostat

European home internet access (Eurostat 2009).

Never used the Interne t- Europe 2009

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/web/_svg/Eurostat_Map_tin00093_12154937851_download_tmp_embed.png

UK Digital Participation Figures (Ofcom)

Household access UK (18.31m 09)

Non-ownership of all comms services

Non users adopting less

Non use (OXII)

Use/Adoption Factors

Correlates with: IncomeAge and LifestageRegionProfessional activityEducationSexAbility/DisabilityCapital/WealthFamily with children

Age and Socio-economic Profile of home internet 2010 Ofcom

Education

Involuntary non-use: income and disability

Scottish Household Survey: Car availability

Gender differences in driving skills (Scotland)

SHS quarterly data 2010 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/16002/DataTrendsLicense

Proxy Use

Have some to ask

For those who do have access…

Time Spent online

The average person spent over 14 hours surfing the internet on a PC or laptop at home in May 2010 (Figure 5.90), equivalent to 27 minutes a day and a 15% increase on the 12.4 hours (24 minutes a day) reported for May 2009 – Ofcom 2010

Where access internet (OxII)

What do we do online?

What do we do online?

Communication

Uses: Entertainment

Ecommerce

Viewing user-created video

Participation

Participation 2

Use of SNS

“Have you done any of the following things on the Internet in the last year? – Created a profile on a social networking site such as YouTube, MySpace or Facebook?”

OxII 2007

In 2009 half of the Internet users (49%) reported having updated or created a social networking profile, up from 17% in 2007

Multiple media use

Get married

Don’t take my TV away!

Don’t take away my Facebook (OxII 2007)

"misuse of email at work' eDesigns 2002

"Top ten emai l ‘misuse’ by men"

"Top ten emai l ‘mi s use ’ by women"

Flirting in the office 27% Plan n ing so cial life with friends 32% Gossi p ing a b out staff 18% Contact ing s ibl ings 18% Forwarding p orn ograp h ic UR Ls 13% Gossi p ing a b out staff 15% Contact ing n on -work friends 16% Flirting in the office 13% Orga n is ing socia l life 11% Forwarding p orn ograp h ic URLs 7% Forwarding jokes to co lleagu e s 5% Seek new e mployment 6% Seek new e mployment 4% Forwarding jokes to co lleagu e s 4% Commu n icat ing with overseas relatio n s

3% Transfer work to web based email addresses

3%

Contact par e nts 2% Contact overse a s relati ons 1%

Social Exclusion, Digital Exclusion Digital Participation, Digital Inclusion

Social ExclusionUnequal but free agents with opportunity.Dimensions

No access to work/labour market Consumer Identity Community Citizenship

Issues (e.g. Atkinson 1996)

Relative in society Role of Agency Dynamics Individual, family or community

Social ExclusionIndices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD):

income deprivation; employment deprivation; health deprivation and disability; education, skills and training deprivation; barriers to housing and services; living environment deprivation and crime. http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1128440

There are approximately 4.9m people living in the 10% most deprived places in England

.21.5% of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) people live in these areas compared to 8.8% of the white population.

On average 39% of the people in these areas experience income deprivation compared to a national average of 14 per cent.

29% of households within these areas are surviving on incomes below £10,000.

12% of all children live in these areas and just over half of these live in households that are income deprived.

Social excluded:

The Digital Inclusion Landscape in England- Delivering Social Impact through Information and Communications Technology Digital Inclusion Team March 2007

Inclusion and Exclusion via ICTsTechnical Fix for excluded groups

Work inclusionProvide training for new jobs in the ‘information age’Tools to find jobs

Community - end isolationNew community. Pathways to join local commuities or

communities of interenst

ButCan’t adopt, won’t adoptNo money, no skills, no interest, no trust

Result-> ‘Digital’ exclusionPoor JobsLimited Government services (esp e-government)Limited Information (jobs, consumer, politics)Few Consumer benefits (cost of not shopping online) Isolation from new culture

New excluded groups - older men

Digital exclusion intensifies as society and the economy become increasingly based on the Internet

Labour market exclusion:Women

Exclusion from best jobsCreation of ‘the Internet’Very low participation of women in engineering

and IT professions, especially in ‘West’

ButHigh in Far EastMedia starts to dominate, and female dominated

professionsWomen in the network society question

Problems

Access Resources (time, money, experience, social

network)Local exclusionLiteracy and Skills

Basic literacy Information age literacy

MotivationSocial and individual issues Life-stagee.g. identity

Ofcom Consumer Panal

Policy

Social PolicyUnemploymentSocial cohesion

Industrial Policy skilled workforceConsumer market

So many policies, so many terms

Policy: ‘E-inclusion’, ‘digital participation’

Provide accessProvide skills (Euro comp driving licence)Local experts - change agentsUser friendly spaces - cybercafes, telecentres,

computers in hairdressersFree computers+ for whole communitiesLiberalisationGovernment-industry partnershipsRely on ‘s-curve’‘Thin’ use. Can remove barriers, but not create motivations

E-Government problem

1990s-2009s : government committed to diversified service delivery – face to face, mail, internet etc

2009 – Digital Britain plan, economic crisis – government signals move to ‘Internet only’ government services

E-inclusion=Social inclusion?

Claire Buré paper.Subcultural appropriationCan act as a bridgeCan reinforce subcultural and excluded

life.

Questions

Is the digital divide an important factor in social exclusion?

What policies can help promote adoptionDoes technology adoption really lead to

social inclusion?

Global Digital DivideDevelopment agenda

Centre - periphery, North-South ‘Development’ modelBlack-holes: ‘silent zones’, 4th world

Irrelevance of the InternetTo expensive, no electricity, no skills etcBetter things to spend money on:

Health, water, food, roads,education Problem of government control and corruption

ButEnabling technologyLeapfrogging

Global Digital Divide 2

DonorsEducation, telecentres, phone banks

LiberalisationForeign investment

Infrastructure - Mobile phonesNew marketsIndustry (outsourcing)

Indigenous economic developmentRelevant Technology

Mobile phonesPayment systemsStimulate local innovation

Problems and BenefitsSocio-cultural issues.

TrustLocal economy and cultural barriers

Economic dividesElitesStill too expensiveNeed for sustainability

Donor projectsBenefits

Bottom up use innovationSocial cohesion in migrationetc

Never Catch up

Many interlocking issues.Always new technologiesIncreased commercialisationAre the vanguard opening up the gap?New Society?:

Global elitesEntertainment consumersSubculturesExcluded

Next Week: Community and Identity

Reading: Feenberg, A., Bakardjieva, M (reading pack)Darin ch 4, Castells ch 5

Presentations:Wellman "Neighboring in Netville: How the Internet

Supports Community and Social Capital in a Wired Suburb"

MMPRPGs/Online worldsAssignments:

Diary of whom and how you communicate.Blog entry on importance of internet and mobile phone

for your social and study life. Or on your experience of online community