Assaigs sobre la bretxa digital

Resumen

Over the past decade, the internet has become a crucial aspect of networks based on the information and communication technologies, breaking down communication barriers between cultures by allowing access to almost any service worldwide. In addition to the spread of the internet worldwide, social media networking, online platforms, and other digital technologies have radically changed our daily lives. As a result, the internet is perhaps the most visible aspect of globalization and a driving force that integrates almost every industry. Even though digital technology is spreading rapidly, most of the population does not enjoy the benefits. Digital divisions have arisen in the use of the internet and social media, and in conducting activities online. Initially, the digital divide referred to the gap between groups of individuals with access to technologies and those with restricted access or none at all. However, evidence has shown that the concept is more complex than mere access to digital devices. In the last 15 years, researchers have tried to produce a comprehensive explanation of different digital divides. To better understand relations between different digital divide levels, van Dijk and associates developed their resources and appropriation theory (van Dijk, 2005, 2020). The RA theory proposes a sequential model to explain the relationship between different digital divide levels and how social inequalities are produced and reproduced. The sequential model shows that the process of appropriation goes from motivations to use of the internet (attitudes and reasons for (not) using the internet), to physical access to the internet (quality, quantity, and ubiquity), to digital skills (appropriate internet use), and to the internet use and outcomes (engaging with the internet and enjoying the benefits). That process is not equally distributed in society. This doctoral dissertation, grounded in the resources and appropriation theory as the theoretical framework, explores the first digital divide in Thailand to explain internet access heterogeneity in a developing country. Considered were Thai users’ access to the internet, theoretical drivers, and indicators of positional resources and social categories. It was found, in general, that computer and internet access opportunities are the primary drivers of internet use. However, the aggregate effect covers the fact that there is a digital and social transformation underway in Thailand. On the one hand, there is a new mobile group of internet users for which the most crucial driver of internet use is mobile access opportunities followed by internet and computer access opportunities. On the other hand, drivers for a traditional group of internet users are computer and internet access opportunities. As for the social properties of individuals in each groups, the mobile user group can be profiled as female, aged 15-35 years, well educated, a student, single, and resident in Bangkok or Central Thailand, while the traditional internet user group is composed of older, less well-educated individuals, with disabilities, unemployed, most typically married or widowed, and living in Northern Thailand. The drivers behind internet use diversity may be generational, suggesting a need to switch the research focus from households to individuals, even in less developed countries. Also analysed was internet use by European Union citizens, by generalizing the validity of the sequential model proposed by the RA theory from one country to the entire bloc. Support was found for the hypothesized relationships, but another finding was that the drivers’ effects on internet use vary depending on the digital development level of countries. While education overall is the primary determinant of the social production of digital inequalities, a country’s digital development level is crucial for less well-educated Europeans. Furthermore, young and well-educated individuals are the best positioned in society to take advantage of digital technologies in each country. Our findings throw new light on the social process of internet appropriation, suggesting that it develops differently in different European countries. Finally studied was the role of trust in producing a new digital divide. The sequential model of social internet appropriation was extended to include trust as a mediator in the causal chain. The extended model proposes that attitudes, physical access, digital skills, and now trust sequentially explain the appropriation process that ends in a digital divide in internet use. Findings indicate that while trust is another significant determiner of the digital divide that mediates digital skills on internet use, digital skills continue to be the most crucial driver in generating the digital gap. Trust is a socially constructed concept whose meaning depends on the digital skills of individuals. To sum up, this research makes several contributions to our knowledge of the social production of the digital divide in developing and developed countries. Uncovered was the existence of a generational digital transformation in Thailand that impinges on the importance of theoretical drivers of access to the internet – a finding that raises doubts regarding the mobile underclass hypothesis. Generalizing the resources and appropriation model’s validity, identified was the digital development level of a country as a public resource for reducing digital inequalities. and education and age as the primary social indicators of digital inequalities. Finally, the theoretical sequential model was extended to include trust as another level of the digital divide, finding that even though its role is significant, digital skills remain as the most influential driver.