Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen1 Digital Divide: UK l Internet Access in UK l Does Digital Exclusion hurt people? l Can Net/Web help underclass?

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen2 Internet Access in UK l 65% of UK households have Internet access »56% have broadband l Who does not have access? »digitally excluded l

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen3 Age matters most l Proportion never used Internet »16-24: very small »25-44: 8% »45-54: 17% »55-64: 44% »65+: 70%

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen4 Education also matters l Household Internet access »93% of adults with degrees (<70 years) »56% of adults with no quals (<70 years)

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen5 Disabilities matter? l In 2004, only 30% of disabled adults had Internet access »Compared to 50% overall in 2004 »Dont know what 2008 figures are, I assume gap persists

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen6 Does poverty matter? l When asked why their household does not have Internet access, 25% say too expensive »But govt provides free Internet access in public libraries, which is not heavily used »So not just poverty…

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen7 Why people say no access l 34%: dont need it l 24%: dont want it l 15%: equipment too expensive l 15%: lack skills l 11%: access (phone/broadband) too exp l 10%: have access elsewhere

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen8 Why no access l Quotes from Demos report »Id love to give it a go, I just dont know where to start »Just stick to what you know, thats what I say »You cant miss what you never had »Im a big fan of using the Internet to send pictures long distance to family, I just dont think Ill ever be able to do it

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen9 Access mostly at home l Use Internet »At home: 90% »At work: 44% »Someone elses home: 20% »School, uni: 14% »Library: 4% »Internet café: 5% l Public access (library) not too common

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen10 Does location matter? l Five years ago, many rural areas did not have good Internet access l As far as I can tell, this is not a problem in 2008, not much difference in rural/urban household Internet access

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen11 Mobile access less common l Access Internet via »Laptop with wireless: 23% »2G mobile: 15% »3G mobile: 4% l Different from many third-world countries, where most people access net via mobiles

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen12 Summary l Who does not use Internet l Elderly, poorly educated, disabled »dont want to change »lack skills to use Internet, scared of it? –Put off by jargon: eg, blog vs diary »harder to use net because of disabilities? –Head-switch vs mouse

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen13 Child with Head Switch l [picture of child in wheelchair with head switch]

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen14 Many exceptions!! l Many elderly, poorly educated, disabled people use the Internet every day! »Vera (76): Ive only been using computers for a couple of years, and it took some convincing to get started, but now Iove it l Statistical generalisations, not absolute laws

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen15 Impact l Does digital exclusion hurt people? »Keep in mind elderly, disabled, poorly educated are already bottom of the heap l How would Internet access help these people?

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen16 Benefits of E-Society l Cheaper, better goods »Elderly, disabled have hard time shopping around l More social interaction via , etc »Elderly, disabled often isolated l Better education, work prospects »For poorly educated

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen17 Costs of E-Society l Fears that digitally excluded will be left behind as society goes digital »Worse access to govt services »Closure of local bookstores, etc because of e-competition »Feeling left behind in general, as society embraces the web/net –Enhance social isolation

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen18 Govt programs l Many govt initiatives »Provide computers to poor people, especially young people »Provide computers in community centes, libraries »Subsidise broadband in rural areas l UK has Minister for Digital Inclusion »Not clear to me what he does…

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen19 Example: Social Isolation l Many elderly people in UK live on their own, away from family »Really want contact with (grand)children l Internet can help » , Skype, social networks, … l Internet can hurt »Grandchildren not interested in face-to-face visits l How do you interact with your (grand)parents »Does Internet help or hurt?

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen20 Can Net help solve social prob l One of UKs biggest problem is underclass »20% of population who live in sink estates, cant read, cant get a job, etc l Can net/web/e-society help such people

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen21 SkillSum again l Reminder: research project to assess people with poor reading and maths skills »Web-based »Encourage people to get help if appropriate l Didnt work well because of tech issues l Would it help if it did work?

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen22 Yes it would help l Helping the underclass get good jobs is the best way to help them l They cannot get decent jobs if they cannnot read or do basic maths l E-learning can help them acquire these skills

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen23 No it wont help l Other problems need to be solved l Kate X (16 yrs old, bright, uneducated) »Main barrier is that her peers beat her up (hospitalise her) if she seems to take her education seriously l Brian Y (17 yrs old, bright, uneducated) »Doing well, learning reading/maths; but wants to be a plumber and there arent any such jobs locally (and he wont move)

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen24 Stories l Jane Z (24 yrs old, avg intelligence) »Working as shop assistant, cant get better job unless improve reading/maths »Drug addict: trying to quit, but borrowed money from local pusher at loan shark rates, cannot pay this off, pushers goons attacked her boyfriend for non-payment »Hard to help her until drug problem resolved

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen25 Can we help l E-Society limited help to people who are truly bottom of heap? »E-Society in third-world countries: not much help to people who are worried about getting enough to eat »E-Society in UK: not much help to drug addict in debt thralldom to local pusher l More help to people who have more moderate problems?

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen26 Other ways of helping l E-govt: better access to benefits, social housing l E-commerce: easier to apply for jobs, more aware of jobs outside local area l E-health: info on diet, smoking, etc l Do these work?

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen27 Class opinions? l Can we use net/web/e-society to help the underclass? l Or is this pointless because it doesnt address the real underlying problems?