Internet Adoption and Usage Patterns are Different: Implications for the Digital Divide

Goldfarb, Avi; Prince, Jeffrey

doi:10.2139/ssrn.882828

Cited by 105 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Theoretically, the causal links between Internet access and psychological well-being in residents of deprived neighbourhoods may go in both directions: on the one hand, information technologies provide people with means to improve their lives, leading to higher well-being; on the other hand, higher levels of well-being (hope, optimism, self-efficacy) may serve as psychological resources that motivate active improvement of one's life situation, which involves the adoption of new technologies. However, because the most likely alternative explanations (such as income, age, and education) have been controlled and because the former direction of causality seems to be more plausible, given existing research [2,44], we believe that our findings contribute to the body of data suggesting a positive effect of the Internet on the well-being of socially disadvantaged populations. Future studies using experimental, longitudinal, and qualitative approaches may help clarify the psychological mechanisms behind this effect, as well as the specific reasons why members of socially disadvantaged groups refrain from taking advantage of contemporary information technology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Internet Access at Home and its Relationship to Well-being in Deprived Areas of London

Boniwell¹,

Osin

Renton³

2015

TOPSYJ

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Purpose:The existing studies of the association between Internet usage and well-being have produced contradictory results. This study explores the associations between Internet access at home and well-being, as well as other lifestyle variables. Design/methodology/approach: The study was done in a probability sample of 800 community-dwelling adults aged 16 and over in six most deprived areas of the Redbridge borough of London. Using face-to-face interviews, information on the demographics, lifestyle, Internet access at home, happiness, trait hope, and subjective health was obtained. Path analysis and structural equation modelling were used to investigate the associations between Internet access and well-being, controlling for demographic variables. Findings: Respondents with home Internet access had stronger social ties with friends and relatives, engaged in a wider repertoire of community creative activities and cultural events, and reported having higher social support. Controlling for demographic variables, Internet access at home was a weak but statistically significant predictor of happiness, agency, and absence of mental health problems. The effect of home Internet access on happiness was partially mediated by social ties. Research limitations/implications: The correlational nature of the study forbids making causal inferences. The data suggest that people with low socioeconomic status may derive wellbeing benefits from having access to information technology which can serve as an instrument for social integration. Originality/value: The data provide a demographic snapshot of the digital divide in one of the most deprived areas of London.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Internet Access at Home and its Relationship to Well-being in Deprived Areas of London

Boniwell¹,

Osin

Renton³

2015

TOPSYJ

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“…In the case of entities, we can face an actual problem of a digital divide stemming from the limitations in both material and competence access to a computer, the Internet and other modern technologies, but it also might be a conscious decision on the entity's part, depending on their needs and approach to technology (Mitzner et al, 2010;Selwyn, 2006) or their education and wealth (Goldfarb, Prince, 2008). When it comes to global-scale differences between the countries, there are far more factors to be named and among them are i.e.…”

Section: What Influences the Digital Divide?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The issue of digital divide in rural areas of the European Union

Kos-Łabędowicz

2017

Ekonomiczne Problemy Usług

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Summary. The increasingly popular use of ICT in different areas of life results in changes of the situations of individuals and entities. However, along with the new possibilities of socioeconomic development, come new risks related to the rise of a new type of inequalities. One of such threats is the digital divide or -in other words -the lack of equal access to the opportunities offered by the Internet and other ICT. The phenomenon of the digital divide applies to both individuals and areas or even countries. The aim of this paper is to introduce the digital divide and the factors influencing the lack of digital convergence with particular emphasis on rural areas of the European Union. In EU's rural areas there is an additional hindrance to achieving digital convergence similar to the urban areas -that is the aging of the population and the progressive depopulation of the countryside.

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“…An example of this inequality is how income and education level are found to be positively correlated with Internet adoption as individuals with higher income and education level tend to use the Internet more (Goldfarb & Prince, 2008). In addition, gender and age are also considered to be related to the use of ICT, as young people and males use new technologies more than the elderly or females (Lin, 2013).…”

Section: Socio-demographic Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing New Channels of Communication: A Case Study of Municipal 311 Requests in Edmonton, Canada

Lu¹,

Johnson²

2016

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City governments around the world are developing and expanding how they connect to citizens. Technologies play an important role in making this connection, and one frequent way that cities connect with citizens is through 311-style request systems. 311 is a non-emergency municipal notification system that uses telephone, email, web forms, and increasingly, mobile applications to allow citizens to notify government of infrastructure issues and make requests for municipal services. In many ways, this process of citizen contribution mirrors the provision of volunteered geographic information, that is spatially-referenced user generated content. This research presents a case study of the city of Edmonton, Canada, an early adopter of multi-channel 311 service request systems, including telephone, email, web form, and mobile app 311 request channels. Three methods of analysis are used to characterize and compare these different channels over three years of request data; a comparison of relative request share for each channel, a spatial hot spot analysis, and regression models to compare channel usage with sociodemographic variables. The results of this study indicate a shift in channel usage from traditional to Internet-enabled, that this shift is mirrored in the hotspots of request activity, and that specific digital inequalities exist that reinforce this distinction between traditional and Internetenabled reporting channels.

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Internet Adoption and Usage Patterns are Different: Implications for the Digital Divide

Cited by 105 publications

References 13 publications

Internet Access at Home and its Relationship to Well-being in Deprived Areas of London

Internet Access at Home and its Relationship to Well-being in Deprived Areas of London

The issue of digital divide in rural areas of the European Union

Characterizing New Channels of Communication: A Case Study of Municipal 311 Requests in Edmonton, Canada

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