[cma-l] Digital Underclass Emerges in the UK

[CMA-L]

New research from Dr Ellen Helsper shows that a digital underclass is
forming in Britain. Characterised by unemployment and lower education
levels, this group is much less likely to access the internet and is
less digitally skilled, despite gains made in the last several years.
This evidence follows a recent analysis by the University College
Union that showed that one in nine adults in the UK lack any
qualifications contributing to divisions between “haves and
“have-nots”:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/60556197/Policy-Brief-Emergence-of-a-Digital-Underclass

Helsper warns that as the government plans to make public services
‘digital by default’ these individuals will be unable to access them,
not because of a lack of infrastructure but because of a lack of
(effective) take up of the available connections.

These individuals rely most on the government services that are now
becoming ‘digital by default’ and will continue to do so. Those who
need access to services most, from where the biggest cost savings
through the digitisation of services are supposed to come, are the
least likely to take these up even when access is available

A dossier, also released today, on digital inclusion traces the
policies and programmes designed to increase digital access and use in
various disadvantaged groups. However, the findings of Helsper’s
research show gaps based on education and employment persist
independent of age or other characteristics. They therefore represent
a problem that is unlikely to go away even with better infrastructure
or as younger generations grow up:

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mediapolicyproject/dossier-digital-inclusio/

Source: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mediapolicyproject/2011/07/26/digital-underclass-emerges-in-the-uk/

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