Exploring and Understanding Digital Differences

As discussed in my previous blog, I learnt that I fell into the digitally native (Prensky, 2001) category and could be categorised as a digital resident (White, 2011, White & Cornu, 2011), due to my passive nature online. Prior to undertaking research for topic one, I naively considered everyone to have an equal level of access and exposure to the web. This is primarily thanks to my upbringing, in which I had digitally literate parents and access to the web via the use of a laptop and phone from a young age. This transcends to now, where the web is pivotal in facilitating my education and my part-time job as a digital marketer for a start-up tech company.

According to Zickuhr and Smith (2012), digital differences refer to the stratification in those who have access to digital technology and the web comparative to those who do not. Surprisingly, 1 in 10 people in the UK have never used the internet (Halford, Davies, & Dixon, 2017). Although minor, this figure is disproportionally made up of those from those of a diverse background, as displayed in figure 1:

This divide is apparent also in those of an ethnically diverse background, have a disability, or are female, as shown in figure 2, figure 3, and a TEDtalk by Elise Roy (TED, 2016):

This stratification of internet access is also prevalent in regions within the UK that are the least affluent, such as Wales and the Midlands:

Although I come from the South West, which is one of the regions with the lowest access to the web, I consider myself to have been the beneficiary of the digital divide, having had a higher access to the web than most. However, as I can see from conducting research, the digital divide particularly impairs those who come from a lesser socio-economic background, whether it be ethnically diverse, disabled, regionally diverse or simply being elderly.

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References

Halford, S., Davies, H. and Dixon, J. (2017). Digital differences – inequalities and online practices. University of Southampton Audio Transcript, [online] p.1. Available at: https://ugc.futurelearn.com/uploads/files/1f/aa/1faadfb0-777f-4ef7-8741-e032127ea311/Digital_differences__-_inequalities_and_online_practices.pdf [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].

Ons.gov.uk. (2017). Internet users in the UK – Office for National Statistics. [online] Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/bulletins/internetusers/2017 [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].

Prensky, M., 2001. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. [Online]
Available at: https://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf 
[Accessed 24 February 2018].

TED. (2016). When we design for disability, we all benefit | Elise Roy. [Online Video]. 16 June 2016. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2m97gPI70I. [Accessed: 24 February 2018].

White, D., 2011. Not ‘Natives’ & ‘Immigrants’ but ‘Visitors’ & ‘Residents’. [Online]
Available at: http://tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk/index.php/2008/07/23/not-natives-immigrants-but-visitors-residents/ 
[Accessed 24 February 2018].

White, D. & Cornu, A. L., 2011. Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. [Online]
Available at: http://firstmonday.org/article/view/3171/3049%20https:/comminfo.rutgers.edu/~tefko/Courses/Zadar/Readings/Selwyn%20dig%20natives,%20Aslib%20Proceedings%202009.pdf 
[Accessed 24 February 2018].

Zickuhr, K. and Smith, A. (2012). Digital Differences. Pew Research Center, [online] 1(5), pp.1-30. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/files/old-media/Files/Reports/2012/PIP_Digital_differences_041312.pdf [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].