Second-Level Digital Divide: Mapping Differences in People's Online Skills

Much of the existing approach to the digital divide suffers from an important limitation. It is based on a binary classification of Internet use by only considering whether someone is or is not an Internet user. To remedy this shortcoming, this project looks at the differences in people's level of skill with respect to finding information online. Findings suggest that people search for content in a myriad of ways and there is a large variance in how long people take to find various types of information online. Data are collected to see how user demographics, users' social support networks, people's experience with the medium, and their autonomy of use influence their level of user sophistication.Comment: 29th TPRC Conference, 200

From the 'Digital Divide' to 'Digital Inequality': Studying Internet Use as Penetration Increases

The authors of this paper contend that as Internet penetration increases, students of inequality of access to the new information technologies should shift their attention from the "digital divide" - inequality between "haves" and "have-nots" differentiated by dichotomous measures of access to or use of the new technologies - to digital inequality, by which we refer not just to differences in access, but also to inequality among persons with formal access to the Internet. After reviewing data on Internet penetration, the paper describes five dimensions of digital inequality - in equipment, autonomy of use, skill, social support, and the purposes for which the technology is employed - that deserve additional attention. In each case, hypotheses are developed to guide research, with the goal of developing a testable model of the relationship between individual characteristics, dimensions of inequality, and positive outcomes of technology use. Finally, because the rapidity of organizational as well as technical change means that it is difficult to presume that current patterns of inequality will persist into the future, the authors call on students of digital inequality to study institutional issues in order to understand patterns of inequality as evolving consequences of interactions among firms' strategic choices, consumers' responses, and government policies.Digital divide, Internet, World Wide Web, computer use, social inequality

Hurdles to Information Seeking: Spelling and Typographical Mistakes During Users\u27 Online Behavior

A refined approach to digital inequality requires that in addition to looking at differences in access statistics we also must examine differences among Internet users. People encounter numerous hurdles during their online information-seeking behavior. In this paper, I focus on the likelihood that Internet users will make spelling or typographical mistakes during their online activities. Information seeking on the Web often requires users to type text into forms. Users sometimes make mistakes, which can hinder their browsing efficiency because they may get detoured to irrelevant sources or encounter errors. I draw on data collected from in-person observations with a diverse sample of 100 Internet users to see what explains their tendency to make spelling and typographical mistakes and the frequency with which they make such errors. I find that education level is a significant predictor of one\u27s likelihood to make mistakes, suggesting that existing social inequalities translate into differences in online behavior

Understanding the Evolving Online Learning Landscape: The Case of Science and Religion

As the online learning landscape expands and social media continue to be an important information source for many, it is important to ask how people evaluate and experience online sources of learning differently and how this compares across domains. Drawing on interviews with 45 adults in the United States, we examine how people’s attitudes and experiences around online learning differ across science and religion. We find that the topic shapes how people evaluate different ways of seeking knowledge online, including through social media. Trust, knowledge, ease, and privacy further influence how people approach learning by domain. Our findings highlight incidental learning through online social networks, suggesting that personal (offline and online) networks as well as intentions shape how the internet helps people learn. We discuss the implications of the findings for future research on the online learning landscape considering the different experiences people have when learning about different topics

A Need for Considering Digital Inequality When Studying Social Media Use and Well-Being

Digital inequality scholarship has consistently found that people from varying societal positions experience digital media in their lives in divergent ways. Therefore, the growing body of research examining the relationship of social media use and well-being should account for the role of social inequality. This piece synthesizes key empirical research that has addressed the nexus of digital inequality, social media use, and well-being from one or more angles. Based on this extant scholarship, we develop a framework for research that integrates relevant perspectives from multiple disciplines

Online social engagement, depression, and anxiety among older adults

As opportunities for social interactions proliferate online, questions arise as to how engagement in such activities may relate to mental health. Given older adults’ shrinking networks and increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), online interactions could offer alternatives for connections that could ultimately benefit older users’ mental health. This article examines associations between older adults’ online social engagement and their mental health. Using data from an online survey of older adults ages 60+, we find positive and negative associations between different forms of online social engagement and anxiety. In terms of depression, two forms of online social engagement showed positive associations with this mental health indicator. Our results can help explain inconclusive findings of previous research on ICT use and mental health by looking at how specific online social activities relate to mental health

Inequalities in Remote Gig Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Remote gig work provided alternatives to in-person work during the COVID-19 pandemic, but digital inequality literature suggests that such opportunities are not equally available to all. Analyzing a survey of 1,551 U.S. adults in May 2020, we ask how sociodemographic factors and Internet skills relate to performing online work on a piece-rate basis before and during the pandemic. In our sample, the percentage of such workers increased by 16% after the outbreak of COVID-19. This inflow was more likely to be younger, Hispanic, and Asian, and less likely to be suburban residents than those who had already performed gig work previously. This suggests that these groups turned to gig platforms more than they did pre-pandemic, diversifying the pool of gig workers. Overall, however, younger, male, and digitally savvy respondents were more likely to perform remote gig work during the pandemic, suggesting that the gig economy mainly broadened the opportunities available to those from advantaged backgrounds. In line with digital skills literature, Internet savvy remains an obstacle to online labor market participation in the 21st century

The importance of algorithm skills for informed Internet use

Using the Internet means encountering algorithmic processes that influence what information a user sees or hears. Existing research has shown that people's algorithm skills vary considerably, that they develop individual theories to explain these processes, and that their online behavior can reflect these understandings. Yet, there is little research on how algorithm skills enable people to use algorithms to their own benefit and to avoid harms they may elicit. To fill this gap in the literature, we explore the extent to which people understand how the online systems and services they use may be influenced by personal data that algorithms know about them, and whether users change their behavior based on this understanding. Analyzing 83 in-depth interviews from five countries about people's experiences with researching and searching for products and services online, we show how being aware of personal data collection helps people understand algorithmic processes. However, this does not necessarily enable users to influence algorithmic output, because currently, options that help users control the level of customization they encounter online are limited. Besides the empirical contributions, we discuss research design implications based on the diversity of the sample and our findings for studying algorithm skills

Birds of a feather flock together online: digital inequality in social media repertoires

Communication has long been concerned with people’s media repertoires, yet little of this approach has extended to the combination of social media platforms that people use. Despite their considerable popularity, research has found that people do not select into the use of social network sites (SNSs) randomly, which has implications for both whose voices are represented on them and where messaging can reach diverse people. While prior work has considered self-selection into one SNS, in this article we ask: how are different SNSs linked by user base? Using national survey data about 1,512 US adults’ social media uses, we build networks between SNSs that connect SNS pairs by user base. We examine patterns by subgroups of users along the lines of age, gender, education, and Internet skills finding considerable variation in SNS associations by these variables. This has implications for big data analyses that depend on data from particular social media platforms. It also offers helpful lessons for how to reach different population segments when trying to communicate to diverse audiences

Digital inequality in disconnection practices: voluntary nonuse during COVID-19

The pervasiveness of digital media renders people constantly connected. Digital inequality theory tends to focus on how socio-digital factors link to technology access, skills, uses, and opportunities derived from such use. It is not clear, however, whether this theoretical lens applies to a time of heightened connection when privilege may also explain intended disconnection. Drawing on data from 1,551 U.S. adults surveyed during the pandemic, we find that younger age, higher education, frequent Internet use, less dependable access, and better skills are related to partaking in voluntary nonuse (e.g., having technology-free moments, switching off the Internet). As digital disconnection emerges from a place of socio-digital privilege as well as disadvantage, in a society of technology abundance, new inequalities arise around who has the freedom to use it in moderation rather than use it at all. Our study extends theoretical notions from digital inequality to the realm of voluntary digital nonuse