This appeared last week.
Digital inclusion in Australia still has way to go
Three decades since Tim Berners- Lee unleashed the World Wide Web on to the world, progress towards closing the divide between those Australians who are and aren’t enjoying the benefits of his invention is stubbornly slow.
While the recently released Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) created by Roy Morgan and supported by Telstra and partners shows Australia making broad progress in terms of improving access, affordability and digital ability, digital inclusion scores remain low among the elderly, disabled and low-income earners.
At the conclusion of Digital Inclusion Week last week, the chairman of the Australian Digital Inclusion Alliance and chief executive of not-for-profit social enterprise Infoxchange, David Spriggs, said the numbers masked growing inequality in digital access and skills across Australia.
“Our real concern is there are still significant gaps and those gaps are widening for a number of groups,” Mr Spriggs said.
“We see that particularly in regional areas, with improvements in metropolitan areas masking the fact there has been declines in regional areas across Australia.
A good deal more here:
It is good to see the ADII has its own website.
About Digital Inclusion in Australia
The internet has transformed almost every aspect of our lives. But for the more than 2.5 million Australians who are still not online, the education, health, social and financial benefits of being connected remain out of reach. And we know that digital disadvantage coincides with other forms of social and economic disadvantage, so those that can potentially benefit most from being connected are at greater risk of being left behind.
Digital inclusion is recognised as one of the key social justice challenges facing policy makers and communities worldwide. Digital inclusion is not just about computers, the internet or even technology. It is about using technology as a channel to improve skills, to enhance quality of life, to drive education and to promote economic wellbeing across all elements of society. Digital inclusion is really about social inclusion.
Here is the link:
Here are the results of the latest report:
Measuring Australia’s digital divide: the Australian digital inclusion index 2019
17 Sep 2019
With a growing range of education, information, government, and community services moving online, internet access is increasingly regarded as an essential service. The benefits of the digital economy cannot be shared when some members of the community are still facing real barriers to online participation. Digital inclusion is based on the premise that everyone should be able to make full use of digital technologies – to manage their health and wellbeing, access education and services, organise their finances, and connect with friends, family, and the world beyond. Digital inclusion is likely also to be important for our national welfare: it is, for example, a necessary element in the environmental, social and economic transformations embodied in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) was first published in 2016, providing the most comprehensive picture of Australia’s online participation to date. The ADII measures three vital dimensions of digital inclusion: Access, Affordability, and Digital Ability. It shows how these dimensions change over time, according to people’s social and economic circumstances, as well as across geographic locations. Scores are allocated to particular geographic regions and sociodemographic groups, over a six-year period from 2014 to 2019. Higher scores mean greater digital inclusion. This 2019 ADII report incorporates data collected up to March 2019, and revises earlier editions.
Key findings:
- Digital inclusion is improving in Australia
- The gaps between digitally included and excluded Australians are substantial and widening for some groups
- Rural Australia leads the way in NBN take-up and access improvements
- Building digital confidence is important for enhancing digital inclusion
- Although value for money has improved, affordability remains a key challenge
- Mobile-only users are less digitally included
- The age gap is substantial but narrowed in 2019
- The digital inclusion gap between Australians with disability and other Australians is substantial but narrowed in 2019
- Indigenous digital inclusion is low, but improving
- Geography plays a critical role
- Some Australians are particularly digitally excluded
- Collaboration across all levels of government is needed
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The full report is downloadable from the link.
This quote says it all:
“Digital inclusion scores remain low among the elderly, disabled and low-income earners.” These are, of course, just the groups whose Social Determinants of Health are worse and who are the group that needs more Digital Health investment than the rest of us.
I believe the ADHA chair is seized if this issue. I wonder will that help?
David.
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