Collateral benefits of Internet use: explaining the diverse outcomes of engaging with the Internet

This article examines the extent to which economic, cultural, social, and personal types of engagement with the Internet result in a variety of economic, cultural, social, and personal outcomes. Data from a representative survey of the Dutch population are analyzed to test whether engagement with a certain type of activity is related to “collateral” benefits in different domains of activities, independent from the socioeconomic or sociocultural characteristics of the person. The results show that what people do online and the skills they have affect outcomes in other domains and that this is independent of the characteristics of the person. This means that policy and interventions could potentially overcome digital inequalities in outcomes through skills training and providing opportunities to engage online in a broad variety of ways. A semiologic rather than an economistic approach is more likely to be effective in thinking about and tackling digital inequalities

Tangible outcomes of Internet use: from digital skills to tangible outcomes project report

In the past decade, digital divide discussions have moved from discussions of use or non-use, to a more nuanced recognition of different types and levels of access, motivation, skills and Internet use in a discourse that centres around digital inclusion and inequality. However, there remain challenges in measurement and conceptualisation. In 2014, the authors of this report started a project with the main objective to develop theoretically informed measures that can be used to explain how people use the Internet and what the benefits might be. A first report (van Deursen, Helsper & Eynon, 2014) looked at how to measure digital skills, an area in which a good amount of research has been done, although good measures with a solid theoretical grounding are scarce. In the current report, the authors move towards a research area that is very underdeveloped: the tangible outcomes that Internet use might result in. Most research in this area focuses on measuring engagement or different uses of the Internet and then assumes that activities performed online result in the corresponding outcomes. An unequal distribution of these types of engagement in turn is assumed to reinforce existing levels of social inequality. In this report, the framework used to design measures of engagement and related outcomes starts from the premise that outcomes of Internet use can be mapped onto different types of offline resources. It argues that a clear separation needs to be made between undertaking different kinds of activities in the digital sphere (i.e. digital resource fields) and the tangible outcomes in different spheres of everyday life (i.e. offline resource fields) that result from this engagement. &nbsp

General Health Statuses as Indicators of Digital Inequality and the Moderating Effects of Age and Education: Cross-sectional Study

BackgroundConsiderable effort has been directed to offering online health information and services aimed at the general population. Such efforts potentially support people to obtain improved health outcomes. However, when health information and services are moved online, issues of equality need to be considered. In this study, we focus on the general population and take as a point of departure how health statuses (physical functioning, social functioning, mental health, perceived health, and physical pain) are linked to internet access (spanning internet attitude, material access, internet skills, and health-related internet use). ObjectiveThis study aims to reveal to what extent (1) internet access is important for online health outcomes, (2) different health statuses are important for obtaining internet access and outcomes, and (3) age and education moderate the contribution of health statuses to internet access. MethodsA sequence of 2 online surveys drawing upon a sample collected in the Netherlands was used, and a data set with 1730 respondents over the age of 18 years was obtained. ResultsInternet attitude contributes positively to material access, internet skills, and health outcomes and negatively to health-related internet use. Material access contributes positively to internet skills and health-related internet use and outcomes. Internet skills contribute positively to health-related internet use and outcomes. Physical functioning contributes positively to internet attitude, material access, and internet skills but negatively to internet health use. Social functioning contributes negatively to internet attitude and positively to internet skills and internet health use. Mental health contributes positively to internet attitude and negatively to material access and internet health use. Perceived health positively contributes to material access, internet skills, and internet health use. Physical pain contributes positively to internet attitude and material access and indirectly to internet skills and internet health use. Finally, most contributions are moderated by age (<65 and ≥65 years) and education (low and high). ConclusionsTo make online health care attainable for the general population, interventions should focus simultaneously on internet attitude, material access, internet skills, and internet health use. However, issues of equality need to be considered. In this respect, digital inequality research benefits from considering health as a predictor of all 4 access stages. Furthermore, studies should go beyond single self-reported measures of health. Physical functioning, social functioning, mental health, perceived health, and physical pain all show unique contributions to the different internet access stages. Further complicating this issue, online health-related interventions for people with different health statuses should also consider age and the educational level of attainment

Social Network Site Skills for Communication Professionals: Conceptualization, Operationalization, and an Empirical Investigation

Background: The primary goal of the current study was to conceptualize and operationalize social networking sites (SNS) skills for communication professionals. Literature review: The development of the definition and measurement instrument began with a critical look at internet skills literature. We propose a three-fold instrument for measuring SNS skills: communication, content creation, and strategic SNS skills. Research questions: 1. Which skills do communication professionals need to effectively use SNS? 2. Which SNS use-related factors contribute to the level of SNS skills? Method: We ensured that the proposed measures reflected typical SNS uses for communication professionals. All items in the instrument used a scale that contained statements about SNS skills, with answer formats that ranged from “Not at all true of me” to “Very true of me.” After the development of a first survey instrument, we conducted cognitive interviews that resulted in some amendments to the proposed skill items to improve clarity. The SNS skill scales and their characteristics were then tested in a pilot study. Results: The resulting instrument was refined in the final study among 203 German communication professionals. Conclusion: The findings suggest a recommendation for the use of a 15-item survey measure for communication, content creation, and strategic SNS skills in professional contexts. Our findings furthermore suggest that communication and content creation SNS skills are better developed than strategic SNS skills. Finally, several SNS use variables were identified as predictors of SNS skills

The irony of the smart home: How the IoT shifts power balances and reinforces household values

We consider inequalities within households to be an important step for increasing our understanding of digital inequalities perpetuated by smart homes. We argue that the key to understanding the use of the Internet of Things is household choreographies rather than individual practices. We specifically address different power relations between household members in regard to their use of IoT devices. Using interview data collected through five visits to 30 households in 15 months, we use abductive analysis to develop our framework that has three dimensions: materiality, accessibility, and harmony. We find that acceptance of the IoT’s materiality by all household members is key, but household rules are also crucial to how well the IoT can operate. Parents can more precisely moderate their children, and data and privacy also require more moderation. In addition, the IoT can help complex household choreographies, but household choreographies that are too complex can hinder IoT use. Finally, we note that traditional gender roles remain prevalent in smart homes

Tablet use in primary education: Adoption hurdles and attitude determinants

Abstract In the Netherlands, six primary schools recently participated in a pilotprogram, creating an educational environment in which children use a tablet PC. Inthese six schools, two studies are conducted. The first study highlights the process bywhich primary schools adopted tablet PCs by means of interviews based on diffusion ofinnovation theory. All stages are discussed: Knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation,and confirmation. Two tablet systems are considered: closed and opensystems. In the second study, a questionnaire was administered among primary schoolchildren in the pilot schools. Factors that affected the general attitude towards tabletPCs are perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, interest in the task and independence.Social influence and prior experience with tablets did not affect the overallattitude. The results of both studies provide several recommendations on how tabletPCs can contribute to educational improvements20 Halama