Digital Divide Flashcards
Digital gender divide - Li and Kirkup
There are significant gender differences in how media is used in the UK
Men = more likely than women to use email or chat rooms & play more games on computers and consoles
Ofcom 2015 - Digital Gender Divide
women = more likely to go online to look at social media
F = 67%
M = 60%
Males = more likely to access the internet
M = 23.3 hrs
F = 17.8 hrs
Olson et al (2008) - Digital Gender divide
Boys = more likely to play violent video games
they want to express fantasies of power & glory and work out their anger
HOWEVER
there are an increasing amount of girls playing violent video games
IAB (2014)- Digital Gender Divide
women account for 52% of those who play games online
linked to increase in popularity of the smartphone which led to mobile gaming like candycrush
these were attractive to females as they were free, intuitive, accessible & did not require much learning time
Hartmann & Klimmt (2006) - Digital gender divide
female gamers generally disliked violent content and preferred the social interaction aspect of the game
Royse et al (2007) - Digital Gender Divide
studied female gamers that played between 3 - 10 hours per week
Found that they were mainly motivated by technical competition offered by games that allowed them to challenge gender norms.
Digital Class Divide
the poor are excluded from new media usage
Because they are a digital underclass who cannot keep up with the M/C use of media technology - they are digitally illiterate
They also cannot afford new mobile phones, tablets or data plans
Helpser (2011) - Digital Class Divide
Despite the narrowing of the digital class divide there is still a digital underclass.
They are characterised by unemployment, lower education levels and low digital skills
Evidence suggests that this group has increased its use of the internet at a much slower rate than other groups
They are not able to afford it or have the education or skills to use it efficiently
Members of this group that do have access to the internet rate their skills as poorer than other, more educated, groups
Ofcom Survey (2015) - Digital class divide
indicates that although a digital class divide exists, it has narrowed in recent years
95% of AB socio-economic group use a range of new media devices to online in any location
Compared to:
- 86% of all socio-economic groups
- only 75% of DE socio-economic group
3/4 of AB socio-economic group own a smartphone
Only 54% of DE socio-economic group own a smartphone
Boyle (2007) - Digital Generation Divide
- the media experience of young people growing up in the uk is different from that of previous generations
They have had a more intense experience of new media in a shorter period of time
new media is significantly different due to its immediacy and accessibility
Consequently, the way young people seek out entertainment and news differs from previous gens
They are more likely to want it all now and tailored to their specific needs and identities
- Adult anxieties about the use of new media by young people have always existed
HOWEVER,
Traditional concerns have amplified and new social anxieties have formed
EG children accessing porn, terrorist propaganda and new forms of bullying and grooming
As a result of younger people having a greater access to a greater range of new media
- The new media are often associated with young people
Therefoer, some sociologists claim that their is a gen divide in how people use the new media
Evidenced by the Ofcom survey (2015)
Ofcom Survey (2015) - Digital Generation Divide
12-15 - year - olds are more likely than adults to be engaged in some from of cross-media multi-tasking
EG texting whilst watching TV
HOWEVER,
The gen divide may be in decline
older age groups are increasingly engaging in online activities
Such as social networking via smartphones and tablets
EG Tesla facebook group = income of an older person
Global Digital Divide
the developed world has a greater access to mobile broadband and the internet than the less developed world.
World Economic Forum (WEF) - Global Digital Divide
the digital divide between the developed and developing nations is worsening
The World Bank (2012)
3/4 of the world’s population had access to a mobile phone
there were 6 billion mobile phones in use worldwide
of which 5 billion were in developing countries
mobile phone use has spread particularly quickly in Africa
However there are large swathes of Africa with no access to the internet
