Impact of digital communication on class/location

Question 1

Why is internet access heavily reliant on money?

Answer 1

To gain internet, people need devices, but they are expensive and need updating.

Question 2

What group cannot afford internet access?

Answer 2

The ‘digital underclass’.

Question 3

How is there greater divide caused by a digital underclass?

Answer 3

• Education for children now relies on researching, so a knowledge gap is created.
• People may also feel inferior and excluded, as the internet can shape cultures and ideas which they may be unaware of.

Question 4

How can internet access link to location/globalisation?

Answer 4

More developed countries have greater access to the consumption of the internet.

Question 5

What sociologists discuss the digital divide, and the link to lower social classes?

Answer 5

Mertens & D’Haenens

Question 6

What do Merten & D’Haenens say about the digital divide and social class?

Answer 6

• The lower class were linked to lower internet use. People with lower class tend to use tech more for entertainment than info/knowledge.
• The divide may be bigger than their research shows as people may be embarrassed to admit their inability to access digital media due to them looking poor.