Digital Inclusion Depends Upon Class and Income: NIACE
A recent research has claimed that computers are not being accessed by almost one-third of adults, and more than a third do not have any access to internet.
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The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) revealed these startling figures that left many surprised. In today’s ultra-connected age, it is easy to think that everyone is online, as the usage of mobile broadband and 3G handsets have increased rapidly. However, this is not the actual case. Nearly 5,000 adults were surveyed during the research, and it was concluded that not all are connected, and that ‘digital inclusion’ as it is referred to depends to a great extent upon class and income.
NIACE has termed these findings as digital divide’s “harsh reality”. Its survey depicted that computers are accessed by nearly 86 percent of people in the AB socio-economic group (managerial and professional). However, those in the DE group (unskilled manual and unemployed) having no access to a computer account for some 45 percent.
Rachel Thomson, a senior programme director at NIACE, said that the institute’s research over the years have found a vital link between the learning poor, the economically poor and the digitally poor. She stated that as the Government has already established its goal for 2012 of achieving universal broadband access, a lot more needs to be done to bridge the digital divide.
