Need to tackle the digital divide
The Carnegie Trust has issued a call for a new focus on tackling digital inclusion.
In a new report, Digital Participation and Social Justice in Scotland, the Trust has highlighted the significant overlap between digital exclusion and other forms of social and economic inequality. The report argues that to solve this problem, all organisations delivering services across the public and charitable sectors need to take action to help everyone enjoy the benefits that digital can offer.
The report, which was funded by the Scottish Government, is based on in-depth analysis of the Scottish Household Survey carried out for the Trust by Ipsos MORI. This analysis reveals who is most likely to offline, why this is the case and what might be done to tackle this problem.
Douglas White, Head of Advocacy at the Trust, said: “Digital participation – helping everyone to get online and maximise the benefits of digital technology – is arguably one of the great social challenges of our age.
“We know the great advantages that being digitally connected can offer – improved employment opportunities, higher levels of educational attainment, cheaper goods and products and better access to public services. However too often those who are excluded are the same people who are also disadvantaged according to most other social and economic measures. This means that digital technology – the great enabling force of the 21st century – is actually exacerbating rather than bridging long-standing inequalities in our own society.
“It doesn’t have to be this way – and all of us who are interested in improving well-being have a role in tackling this issue.”
The research builds on previous studies the Trust has undertaken, looking at the digital divide in different locations across Scotland and in mapping best practice in digital participation activities across the UK.
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