Digital exclusion exists and it impacts most on those who are socially excluded and disadvantaged says a report to be published next week. In light of these findings, the MD of UK Online Centres articulates her strategy to address this.
Our old friend the digital divide must seem to some to be rather passé - yesterday’s news. Surely digital inclusion is a tired and not terribly urgent or interesting problem? Some people are using ICT, some people aren’t. What more can there actually be to understand?
That’s where this research comes in. Digital divide might be an old term, but it has new consequences. For the first time this report gathers together and analyses information from more than 80 sources - research into digital skills, ICT usage and internet penetration from the Office of National Statistics, Ofcom, The Oxford Internet Institute, and different government departments to name but a few. I believe the result is a unique view of the true face of digital inclusion today.
In 2007, digital inclusion is not the transitory problem it was once thought to be. Many people have assumed the digital divide was actually an issue of age, and the digitally excluded would therefore drop (dead) out of the equation if we all just had enough patience. Age is in fact something of a red-herring. Not all older people are ICT illiterate, just as not all young people are ICT literate – 11% of 16 to 24 year olds are in fact digitally excluded. There must be something more complex at work.
Technological change has been grasped by other digital divide doubters as the key to digital inclusion, rather than a factor of exclusion. Given enough time, they say, market forces will naturally close the divide, with digital television and mobile-phone internet connections mopping up the late-adopters. Not so. The truth is web take-up has plateaued, with no more people using the internet now than were using it in 2004. In addition, less than 1% of mobile phone or digital television surfers aren’t already regular internet-users from the comfort of a computer terminal.
In short, digital exclusion isn’t going away, and it certainly isn’t as simple as your common-or-garden generation gap. Neither is it a small problem, with 39% of the population still not taking advantage of the opportunities and benefits computers and the internet can offer. But it isn’t just about numbers. In focussing on counting digitally excluded people we do the digital divide the disservice of thinking it a one dimensional issue. One of the most useful models in this research looks at digital divide 2007 not just as a wide problem, but also a deep one. The fact is that those left on the wrong side of the divide today are more deeply excluded, harder to reach and further away from inclusion than ever before. What we’ve got is a complex, ever-evolving tangle of a divide, one which this research helps to unravel.
The digital divide is still a problem, and it’s not going to respond to the ostrich treatment. But why does it matter? Aren’t there bigger social, economic and political issues of the day to take up our time and energy? Isn’t digital inclusion a bit, well, peripheral? Certainly the digital divide isn’t making the headlines in the way education, health, employment and crime do, but I believe it has an underlying impact on all of these areas, and more. Connecting people to ICT skills can connect them to new or better jobs, to new forms of communication and social interaction, to community infrastructures and government services, to information to help with homework, to consumer power and convenience. It can save people time and money, open new doors and new worlds. Digital inequality matters because those without the right combination of access, skill, motivation or knowledge to make digital decisions are missing out in all areas of life. And that doesn’t just impact on individual lives but on families, communities, on political processes, democracy, public services and the economic and social health of the nation as a whole.
These may sound like very big claims, but this research shows an overwhelming correlation between digital and social exclusion. Indeed, one of the key figures in this report is that a staggering three quarters of people counted as socially excluded are also digitally excluded. That means that people already at a disadvantage – and arguably with most to gain from ICT - are the least likely to be making use of it and most likely to be further disadvantaged by their non-use. It may sound like a Catch-22, but actually it’s an opportunity. If digital and social exclusion are inter-related, positive action on one front can affect the other, and greater equity be the result.
So if the digital divide is both real and relevant, it can no longer be allowed to sit on the periphery of political, charitable and industrial agendas, a poor and undervalued relation to the real work of the day. Far from a red-herring, this is a big fish. Digital inclusion is relevant and important to all sectors. For government there are social, financial and economic benefits, for the third sector added philanthropic value to their current work, and for industry the chance to sell to new customers rather than just selling more to existing ones.
For me, this research report is a line in the sand, a chance to shake-up the digital inclusion status quo, and a platform from which to call for a step-change in how the public, private and third sectors interact on inclusion. While the efforts of all three to date should not be underestimated, by working alone none have achieved the level or consistency of change now obviously needed. To move forward, we must pool resources and expertise. If we can share the load and work together there are very real gains to be made.
This report pulls together a vast amount of research and knowledge which has already fed into the Digital Strategy Review, and I hope it will help to shape future thinking on digital inclusion. A new understanding of what it means to be digitally excluded and the factors at work in exclusion gives us new reason, impetus and ammunition to achieve digital equity. We not only know how many are affected, but how excluded they are, what excludes them, where, and why. That knowledge gives us the tools we need to take action.
To set that process in motion, I have taken the evidence from this report and from the wider work of UK online centres, and put together five next steps for consideration.
- Greater co-ordination through a digital inclusion ‘task group’: Perhaps the most compelling evidence for cross-sector synchronisation is the bibliography at the end of this research. Fragments of digital inclusion expertise, best practice and insight are scattered far and wide. These must be brought together if the cumulative experience of different organisations, agencies and departments is to make a real difference to the divide. A digital inclusion task group or agency should be set up to start planning, collaborating and acting on digital inclusion. Defining and agreeing areas of focus will be key. An obvious split would be for industry to target the digitally determined, and government and third sector organisations to focus on the harder-to-reach – people who are both socially and digitally excluded.
- Clearer ownership within Government: Government policy in the area of digital inclusion currently sits across several departments, separating social exclusion, skills development and transformational government. Clear ownership of digital inclusion issues in government must be established so that investment can have measurable impact and the work in partnership with industry and third sector partners can be co-ordinated. A new Government strategy for digital inclusion would provide a focus for action, measurable targets, and investment to obtain the step change that is required to reduce exclusion.
- Greater opportunities to share best practice: The sharing of best practice should be achieved through an online portal or forum, getting the agencies, companies and departments involved in digital inclusion talking. Setting up and hosting such a forum should be a priority for the digital inclusion community.
- Further research: Understanding soft impacts and the social effects of digital inclusion is a key area for further research. Certainly future research must co-ordinate how figures from different organisations are collected and collated to achieve an accurate picture of digital inclusion. Working together, a task group has the opportunity to commission research to help further understand, segment and target the complex digitally excluded audience. Why, for instance, do people stop using the internet? How could we find out what non-users might want out of ICT, to help market its benefits? How big are the financial and other benefits to individuals or the state of digitally including excluded citizens? How do these benefits compare with the cost per head of engagement?
- Partner campaigns: All sectors should work together to promote digital inclusion through consumer campaigns. Co-ordinating activity could help us engage with more hard-to-reach groups, and raise general awareness of the benefits of being online.
These five steps won’t necessarily be easy to implement, but I believe they are necessary. While there is clear leadership recommended for the Government, this must be backed by co-ordinated support from the private and third sectors. At UK online centres we commit our ongoing support to help decrease the digital divide, and increase digital inclusion and social equity. I look forward to the feedback, suggestions and corresponding pledges of cross-sector colleagues both to this research and to my suggestions for future action.