life online: social inequality and internet use arthur vankan (0613722)
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Life Online:Life Online:Social inequality and Social inequality and internet useinternet use
Arthur Vankan (0613722)
Social implications of the internetSocial implications of the internet(DiMaggio et al. 2001)(DiMaggio et al. 2001)
InequalityCommunity and social capitalPolitical participationOrganizations and other
economic institutionsCultural participation and cultural
diversity
Social implications of the internetSocial implications of the internet(DiMaggio et al. 2001)(DiMaggio et al. 2001)
Digital divide refers to “inequalities in acces to the Internet, extent of use, knowledge of search strategies, quality of technical connections and social support, ability to evaluate the quality of information, and diversity of uses”
Social implications of the internetSocial implications of the internet(DiMaggio et al. 2001)(DiMaggio et al. 2001)
Optimists: internet would reduce inequality due to open resource sharing
Sceptics: greatest benefits will accrue to high-SES persons
Social implications of the internetSocial implications of the internet(DiMaggio et al. 2001)(DiMaggio et al. 2001)
Digital divide in the USFavoring college educated, the
wealthy, whites, people under the age of 55 and, especially in earlier years, men and urban dwellers (Katz & Aspden 1997)
Less affluent and less well-educated users are more likely to become nonusers
Access reflect resource control, intensity reflects demand
Social implications of the internetSocial implications of the internet(DiMaggio et al. 2001)(DiMaggio et al. 2001)
AgeGenderIncome EducationEthnicityGeographical locationComputer skills
Social implications of the internetSocial implications of the internet(DiMaggio et al. 2001)(DiMaggio et al. 2001)
Global digital divideInternet users from 16 million in 1995
to almost 360 million by mid-200097% of host computers located in
developed countries (1998)English dominant and lack of local
contentInequality in content: 80% of visits to
0.5% of all websites and bias due to search engines
Charting digital divides Charting digital divides (Wellman 2004)(Wellman 2004)
Eight countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, and Mexico
They account for 68% of internet users
Diverse patterns of Internet access and use
Developing countries, rapidly growing
Charting digital divides Charting digital divides (Wellman 2004)(Wellman 2004)
Problems with comparing data:1.The definition of online
population often differs from country to country
2.Lack of a standard definition of who is an Internet user
3.Different units of analysis (persons versus households)
Charting digital divides Charting digital divides (Wellman 2004)(Wellman 2004)
Digital divide is national and international
Occurs at the intersection of international and intranational socioeconomic, technological and linguistic differences
The diffusion of Internet use in developed countries may be slowing and even stalling
Charting digital divides Charting digital divides (Wellman 2004)(Wellman 2004)
The digital divide between first-movers and latecomers among developed countries is narrowing
The nature of the digital divide varies between countries
The digital divide remains substantial between developed and developing countries
Charting digital divides Charting digital divides (Wellman 2004)(Wellman 2004)
The digital divide can widen even as the number and percentage of Internet users increases
The digital divide is wide and deep in developing countries
The digital divide has profound impacts on the continuation of social inequality
There are multiple digital divides, not just a single digital divide
Charting digital divides Charting digital divides (Wellman 2004)(Wellman 2004)
Socioeconomic status: Internet users are more likely to be better off and better educated than non-users in all eight countries surveyed
Gender: Men are more likely than women to access and use the Internet
Life stage: In both developed and developing countries, the Internet penetration rate among younger people is substantially higher than that among older people
Charting digital divides Charting digital divides (Wellman 2004)(Wellman 2004)
Geographic location: Geographic location affects access to and use of the Internet
Note that results look like those from DiMaggio et al. (2001)
Digital distinction: Status-specific Digital distinction: Status-specific Types of Internet usage (Zilien Types of Internet usage (Zilien and Hargittai 2009)and Hargittai 2009)
Not only about users vs. nonusers, also ways of usage
Skill as an underlying factor, but hardly ever measured
Resource and routine aspectsInterest versus status
Digital distinction: Status-specific Digital distinction: Status-specific Types of Internet usage (Zilien Types of Internet usage (Zilien and Hargittai 2009)and Hargittai 2009)
Internet as increasing resource in economy investigate people’s engagement and who is benefiting
No pure luxury anymoreCapital-enhancing consequences
of Internet usage
Digital distinction: Status-specific Digital distinction: Status-specific Types of Internet usage (Zilien Types of Internet usage (Zilien and Hargittai 2009)and Hargittai 2009)
Variables background: social status, age, gender, topic interest◦SES: educational degree, income,
occupational prestige, and a subjective rating by the interviewer
Variables of use: Technical equipment: (1) quality of their computer equipment; (2) the age of their computer; (3) connectivity speed; (4) and Internet pricing.
Digital distinction: Status-specific Digital distinction: Status-specific Types of Internet usage (Zilien Types of Internet usage (Zilien and Hargittai 2009)and Hargittai 2009)
Digital experience: (1) hardwarerelated technical proficiency; (2) self-reported Internet-related knowledge; (3) time spent online; (4) level of computer interest perceived among the people in one’s social surroundings
Digital distinction: Status-specific Digital distinction: Status-specific Types of Internet usage (Zilien Types of Internet usage (Zilien and Hargittai 2009)and Hargittai 2009)
Digital distinction: Status-specific Digital distinction: Status-specific Types of Internet usage (Zilien Types of Internet usage (Zilien and Hargittai 2009)and Hargittai 2009)
Digital distinction: Status-specific Digital distinction: Status-specific Types of Internet usage (Zilien Types of Internet usage (Zilien and Hargittai 2009)and Hargittai 2009)
The deepening divide (The deepening divide (Van Dijk Van Dijk (2005))(2005))
Chapter 2: A framework for understanding the digital divide
Relational view: include the bonds, relationships, interactions, and transactions between people
The deepening divide (The deepening divide (Van Dijk Van Dijk (2005))(2005))
Core argument:1.Categorical inequalities in society produce
an unequal distribution of resources2.An unequal distribution of resources causes
unequal access to digital technologies3.Unequal access to digital technologies also
depends on the characteristics of these technologies
4.Unequal access to digital technologies brings about unequal participation in society
5.Unequal participation in society reinforces categorical inequalities and unequal distributions of resources
The deepening divide (The deepening divide (Van Dijk Van Dijk (2005))(2005))
Personal categories◦Age or generation (young-old)◦Sex or gender (male-female)◦Race or ethnicity (e.g. white-black)◦Intelligence; cognitive, emotional,
social (high-low)◦Personality (e.g. extravert-introvert)
The deepening divide (The deepening divide (Van Dijk Van Dijk (2005))(2005))
Positional categories◦Labor (e.g. employer-worker)◦Household (e.g. Parent-child)◦Nation (e.g. developing-developed,
city-rural area)◦Education (e.g. high-low, in school-
finished)
The deepening divide (The deepening divide (Van Dijk Van Dijk (2005))(2005))
Three mechanisms of distributing resources◦Social exclusion◦Exploitation◦Control
The deepening divide (The deepening divide (Van Dijk Van Dijk (2005))(2005))
Different resources◦Temporal resources (time to spend on
different activities in life)◦Material resources (properties, e.g.
income)◦Mental resources (knowledge, social
and technical skills)◦Social resources (social positions and
relationships)◦Cultural resources (cultural assets,
status and all kinds of credentials)
The deepening divide (The deepening divide (Van Dijk Van Dijk (2005))(2005))
Kinds of access◦Motivational access◦Material or physical access◦Skills access◦Usage access
The deepening divide (The deepening divide (Van Dijk Van Dijk (2005))(2005))
Participation in society◦Labor market◦Education◦Politics◦Culture◦Social relationships◦Spatial arrangements◦Citizenship◦Social security◦Health provisions
The deepening divide (The deepening divide (Van Dijk Van Dijk (2005))(2005))
Chapter 5: Skills access
Operational skills: operating computers and the Internet
Information skills:◦Formal: formal characteristics (e.g.
hyperlink)◦Substantial: ability to find, select,
process and evaluate informationStrategic skills
Communicative entitlements and Communicative entitlements and democracy (democracy (Couldry 2007)Couldry 2007)
Communicative entitlement: citizens’ rightful claim in a democracy to ‘be listened to and be treated seriously’
In participatory democratic theory this would flow from mutuality: our requirement to recognize each other as agents capable of debating, and reaching shared decisions about, common issues (Benhabib, 1995)
Communicative entitlements and Communicative entitlements and democracy (democracy (Couldry 2007)Couldry 2007)
Fear that individualization leads to an irreversible degeneration of the public sphere
Information abundance, attention scarcity & lack of traditional civic engagement
Communicative entitlements and Communicative entitlements and democracy (democracy (Couldry 2007)Couldry 2007)
First, access to information flow to form own opinions
Second, access to opportunities to take part in collective discussions
1 + 2 The effective opportunity to participate online. “The opportunities for citizens to be informed and to be heard”
Caveat: government’s side needs to be rethought to do something with these communicative resources
Communicative entitlements and Communicative entitlements and democracy (democracy (Couldry 2007)Couldry 2007)
Making communicative entitlement broader: Sen’s capability approach
Distributive rights: not only looking at goods, but at capabilities to achieve functionings that have (variable) value
Possibility, not possession!
Still unclear how media interacts with engagement
QuestionsQuestions
What other aspects of social economic status could underly the digital divide(s)?
Should the government make specific policies regarding the digital divide? If so, what would they look like? Or is inequality maybe unevitable?
Do you think the digital divide in the NL, or certain aspects of this divide, will increase or decrease, and why?
QuestionsQuestions
At what points is being an ‘Internet-elite’ crucially advantageous?
Do you think participation in society also increases motivational access (something Van Dijk does not mention), which would even more strongly reinforce the-rich-get richer-effect?
What problems do you expect to arise in the future due to the digital divide?