Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2
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Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2
CHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 hnologies that some social groups experience. While this term is subject co some contention, it is clear that some social groups and chose living in certain geographical regions use digital technologies less frequently than others. It is important to acknowledge that the Utopian discourses of democr Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 atic participation, community-building, sharing and prosumption that often circulate in mainstream accounts of the possibilities offered by digital teEbook Digital sociology: Part 2
chnologies often fail to recognise the political aspects of these technologies. This chapter addresses these issues, examining the use of digital techCHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 . It moves from reviewing the findings of large-scale surveys involving large numbers of respondents from specific countries or cross-nationally to in-depth qualitative investigations that are able to provide the detailed context for differences in internet use.THE BIG PICTUREA number of large-scale Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 research reports have been published recently by both academic and corporate researchers on the attitudes to and use of digital technologies in varioEbook Digital sociology: Part 2
us geographical locations. In this117THE DIVERSITY OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY USEsection I discuss some of the findings from these reports, some of which dCHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 g differences between countries in access to the internet and attitudes to digital technologies in various social groups within nations.According to an estimate presented in a report published by the International Telecommunication Union (2013). by the end of 2013 there would be almost as many mobil Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 e phone subscriptions as people on the planet. It was also estimated that almost 100 per cent of people globally can now access a mobile phone signal.Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2
I lowever, not everyone owns a mobile phone or has access to the internet, and clear disparities are evident when comparing wealthy with middle-incomCHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 ore (4.4 billion) who were not online. Across the globe there had been a strong growth in household internet access over the previous three years, particularly in developing countries, to the point that it has been estimated that over 40 per cent of households had access (International Telecommunica Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 tion Union 2013: 1). However, when this figure is compared for developed versus developing countries, while almost 80 per cent of people living in devEbook Digital sociology: Part 2
eloped countries had household internet access at the end of 2013, this compared with only 28 per cent in the developing regions.Those living in AfricCHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 s and the availability of internet infrastructure, particularly in rural areas (International Telecommunication Union 2013: 7-9).Our Mobile Planet is a report commissioned by Google about the ownership and use of smartphones in 47 countries globally (although no findings are provided on any African Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 countries). On the Our Mobile Planet website, extensive details are provided about the results of the global survey that was undertaken by research fiEbook Digital sociology: Part 2
rms for Google using an online questionnaire in three waves: in 2011,2012 and 2013. The focus of the survey is commercial: Google was interested in thCHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 ing and purchasing decisions.The findings of Our Mobile Planet, as shown on the website, indicate that smartphone ownership has risen significantly in every country included in the study in the past two years. However, there is a clear difference when regional areas are compared. Wealthy Middle East Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 ern countries have the highest rate of smartphone ownership: 74 per cent118THE DIVERSITY OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY USEof residents of the United Arab EmirEbook Digital sociology: Part 2
ates and 73 per cent in Saudi Arabia own them. These countries are closely followed by middle-income Asian countries such as South Korea (73 per cent)CHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 both the US and Canada and 54 per cent in New Zealand). In China 47 per cent of the population own smartphones. Interestingly, the Google data show that the Japanese are not yet high adopters of the smartphone, with only 25 per cent of people in that country owning this device. However, this statist Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 ic is somewhat misleading, as it does not reflect the fact that the Japanese were leaders in mobile photic technology and a high number have beet! usiEbook Digital sociology: Part 2
ng the Japanese version of internet-enabled mobile phones (called ‘feature phones’) for many years.The Google data demonstrate that Eastern European, CHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 while in Brazil it is 26 per cent and in Mexico 37 per cent). Poor South and South-East Asian countries have very low smartphone ownership (20 per cent in Vietnam and 13 per cent in India, for example). While it is not surprising that less wealthy countries do not have a high rate of smartphone owne Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 rship, the interesting difference IS between wealthy countries. According to Googles data, the residents of European countries (52 per cent in the NetEbook Digital sociology: Part 2
herlands. 45 per cent in Finland, 42 per cent in France and 40 per cent in Germany, for example) are somewhat less enthusiastic about smartphone ownerCHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 35 per cent, I kingary 34 per cent).Other data have been retrieved from the Alexa company, which aggregates data from millions of internet users, and rendered into visual form on a global map by the Information Geographies team (Mark Graham and Stefano De Sabbala) al the Oxford Internet Institute.T Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 heir map (Oxford Internet Institute 2013) shows the reach and spread of Google and Facebook. The map shows that Google is the most visited website inEbook Digital sociology: Part 2
most of Europe, North America and Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand). Facebook is the most visited site in the Middle East, North Africa anCHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 ountries. The countries where Google is the most visited website account for half of the entire population with access to the internet. In Asia, however, local competitors dominate. Baidu is the most used search engine in China and South Korea, while the Japanese version of119THE DIVERSITY OF DIGITA Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 L TECHNOLOGY USEYahoo! and Yahoo! Taiwan dominate in those countries respectively and the search engine Yandex is the most visited site in Russia.AnotEbook Digital sociology: Part 2
her survey-based study covering several countries was commissioned by Intel. It identified attitudes to and use of digital technologies in Brazil, ChiCHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 tal technologies made their lives easier and enhanced their relationships with family and friends. More than one-third of the respondents agreed with the idea that the technologies they use should learn about their behaviours and preferences as they use them, as this makes technology use more effici Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 ent.The Intel report also identified some interesting differences between social groups. According to Intel, the group they describe as ‘millennials’Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2
(young people aged 18 to 24) were somewhat ambivalent about digital technologies.They recognised the value of technologies in their lives and were wilCHAPTER 6The diversity of digital technology useThere has been much discussion of the so-called‘digital divide , or the lack of access to digital tech Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 But members of this group were also concerned about users becoming over-reliant on their technologies and that using technologies made people ‘less human'. In comparison, women aged 45 or older, as well as those living in the developing countries included in the survey, were the most positive about Ebook Digital sociology: Part 2 digital technologies.These respondents viewed digital technologies as contributing to a country’s wellbeing in such areas as employment, transport, eEbook Digital sociology: Part 2
ducation and healthcare. They tended to agree, therefore, that people should use technology' more often. Higher-income respondents were more likely toGọi ngay
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