Online Access Forum: Why Digital Inclusion Matters
Post categories: media literacy
| 18:30 UK time, Thursday, 15 October 2009
Russ has asked in the comments to my previous post, 'What happened to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Online Access Forum announced by the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's COO Caroline Thomson at the summit on 17th April?'
Talk about timing. It's this Friday. Hosted by Mark Thompson, the day is part of the ongoing collaborative and productive dialogue taking place with a number of different organisations. Earlier this week, I heard , Digital Inclusion Champion on Radio 4's to have the same choices and same rights as the people who are connected. makes sombre reading. Digitally excluded households are missing out on making savings between £270 and £560 per year from shopping and paying bills online, and the most economically disadvantaged families are missing out on combined savings of over £1billion.
I sit on the task force Martha chairs and what's energising is the commitment of organisations such as and the determination of initiatives such as to get everyone in Barnsley online by 2012. Together, we now have a national call to action. Have a look and see if you can get involved.
Why does digital literacy matter? The facts tell their own story. More than 10 million adults across the UK have never used the internet, and worryingly 4 million of this group is also socially excluded. All of them are missing out on the connections, the opportunities and the cost efficiencies that the web has to offer. Of the 4 million adults offline who are socially excluded: 39% are over 65 years old; 23% are unemployed and 19% are in families with children.
At its core, inclusion is about enabling people to be part of our community. Or in other words, it's a wonderful way of opening up worlds, of communicating, and alleviating loneliness and exclusion.
What can we do to help those who have never had the opportunity to use the web for simple day-to-day life-enhancing activities?
There is a generation now retired who missed the IT revolution completely. Why should they not be able to enjoy all the opportunities and benefits offered by the Internet? Take the simple question of language. We put up web addresses - but to some this makes no sense at all. They need help to understand- what for them is a new way of life that has somehow by passed them over the last 10-15 years.
We need to ensure that the bewildering often mystifying language and terminology is made simple and clear. They also need help which is not patronising. Then there is fear; fear of learning and being shown up. Perhaps this can be lightened with support from a family member or neighbour? Perhaps volunteering is one part of the overall solution. I'd like your thoughts and suggestions on what we can do individually and collectively to make a difference. Do you have examples of helping an older relative get connected, or perhaps a friend?
I believe a simple and effective need is making bog standard technology simple - easier to understand and therefore use. We have all known the frustration of the system crashing and the sheer rage that can sometimes grip you when you've lost hours of work. I deal with the frustration of my wireless not working (even though the modem is winking green) by pulling all the wires out, taking a deep breath and starting again. Websites that crash give new hesitant users a feeling of failure rather than frustration. They need reassurance that it's not them - it's the machine!
, online shopping, , free phone calls, video conferencing, consumer advice and information, find-a-friend services have over the years helped make the web relevant to our lives. What the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ can do with the myriad stories it tells is to use our creative storytelling skills across a variety of platforms to help encourage that take up. And we can do this with the faces that have become familiar over the years.
At the Access Forum tomorrow, we will show e contributions from Terry Wogan, Adrian Chiles, Kirsty Young, Jonathan Ross, Kirsty Wark, Ken Bruce, Kwame Kwei-Armah and members of the EastEnders cast and Blue Peter team. I'll make sure this is available for you to see
A sizeable group of those not online at home are the young. Most access digital services at their friends' houses, schools, colleges, or universities. It is now about making them more confident, better users, so they appreciate what they need to do or not do, and how to express themselves creatively. They need to grasp how (and why) media works as it does, what is legal and what is not, and how to protect their identities and rights...
Later this evening, I am going to the launch of to promote Digital Participation. The aim is to increase the reach, breadth and depth of digital technology use across all sections of society. The Consortium has over fifty members who will contribute expertise and communications channels to promote Digital Participation. Some of the larger members include , the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, and .
The forum we are hosting tomorrow is but one chapter in this continuing narrative. Chaired by Gavin Esler, speakers include: Martha Lane Fox, the Government's Champion for Digital Inclusion; Peter Barron, Director of Communications, Google; Simon Milner, Group Director, Industry Policy, BT and the broadcaster Johnny Ball. Members of the public, who have just embarked on their own online journeys, will tell it like it is.
Nick Reynolds will blog about the day and you will also be able to see some of the short films we will show during the discussions. We will publish our research into home broadband adoption. There is a huge groundswell of support in trying to get the country online - but we need your help. Please post your ideas in the comments.
Seetha Kumar is Controller, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Online.
Comment number 1.
At 15th Oct 2009, TV Licence fee payer against ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ censorship wrote:"There is a generation now retired who missed the IT revolution completely. Why should they not be able to enjoy all the opportunities and benefits offered by the Internet? Take the simple question of language. We put up web addresses - but to some this makes no sense at all. They need help to understand- what for them is a new way of life that has somehow by passed them over the last 10-15 years."
Not sure that is entirely true, only those who must be into their 90s perhaps, many people in their 80s not only use computers now but some were working with computers when they were the 'white hot heat of technology' (to miss quote a famous speech), and those that didn't meet the computer in the 1960s early 70s most certainly started to use them in the late 70s or 1980s, many of these people are probably more comfortable and knowledgeable of IT than many younger 'up-starts' that try and baffle them with all the hype and techno-babble in the media and in-store...
Sorry Seetha, even though I'm well out of the generation you speak of, I find your comments rather patronising as I'm sure those of the generation you speak of do.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)
Comment number 2.
At 16th Oct 2009, _marko wrote:There are many analogies with actual literacy (difficulty reading and writing) and how this has been approached. If people can't afford to buy books from a bookshop they can't be said to be "excluded" if they just need to go to the library to access books. If they're illiterate they're not going to use the internet effectively!
"At least seven million adults in the UK are functionally illiterate"
I guess this problem needs to be solved first.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 2)
Comment number 3.
At 16th Oct 2009, Paul Murphy wrote:#1 Boilerplated
Seetha's over at the Online Access Forum for the rest of the day (hence me posting on her behalf). She says:
"I did not mean to patronise in any way. I should have said 'There is
a generation now retired *some of who* missed the IT revolution
completely.'"
Complain about this comment (Comment number 3)
Comment number 4.
At 16th Oct 2009, Mike K wrote:Every Freeview box which does not have an ethernet connection and a browser is an opportunity missed get someone connected.
I suggest you go on some personal protect about this. I would suggest you would get a great deal of support if you went public and stated you cannot be a true ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ digital inclusion champion until the Digital Switchover activity is ammended to include this option. Updates on Canvas would also be welcome.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 4)
Comment number 5.
At 17th Oct 2009, cping500 wrote:Yes let's have much less generationalism! Most of the students I have taught can't type properly, and can't use a word processor other than as a typewriter. Look at the general 'illiteracy' of sports (middle aged) journalists discussing the recent web only feed of an England football match, and news journalists attitude writing first and checking facts later in news stories. (usually 20's 30's)
On the other hand much of the web is primitive. Search engines are a good example of how while away an hour or so without any useful result.(especially the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ one!) Another example is incompatible browers or not standardised sites (try O2.co.uk)
The web is clunky, PC applications are bloated (and need 400 page volumes to use, at £35 a time) and the interconnection between the hardware remains problematical. (try wifi!!)
Web use is still really a hobby, and has a steepish learning curve.
Incidentally I am 70.. been 'using' computers since 1962, and personal computers since 1979, on-line 'communication' since 1985.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 5)
Comment number 6.
At 17th Oct 2009, cping500 wrote:Just a note for Marko and "functional literacy" The link did not tell us what functional literacy is. A quick google shows that its is usually dictionary definition is:
"basic literacy for everyday life: the level of skill in reading and writing that a person needs to cope with everyday adult life"
but a glance at the Wiki article will show it is a contested concept because it depends on the 'function' for which 'literacy' is to be used. So making sense of a book using Microsoft Office would require I suspect a higher degree of functional literacy than reading about Eastenders.
An older view was that literacy means being able to read and answer questions on the Sun newspaper, or what is expected of an average a 7 year old, in which case about 95% of adults could do this (but notice there are parts of the paper which require a higher level of skill.) Over 80% of the world population the UN suggests can mange to read simple word strings (traffic signs etc.)
The claim in the article is 'true' (UN report did say this) but the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ News journalist fails to contextualise the claim and seems to make a 'political point' Undertanding this last is requires a higher level of literacy than just understanding The SUN.
But the Web and IT in general do need to be dumbed down a bit. However people do learn a lot when it matters. Pop into you local betting shop and discuss the odds with the punters (who are people who may not have 'functional literacy, just a special a specialist literacy required for their hobby)
Complain about this comment (Comment number 6)
Comment number 7.
At 18th Oct 2009, sabcarrera wrote:My computer broke down last week and I lost the charger to my phone.
This left me with much time to put my paerwork in order, read text books, think and do things.
Pensioners surely have better things to do such as knitting, gardening travelling.
SIGN OFF now.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 7)
Comment number 8.
At 19th Oct 2009, _marko wrote:from
"but cannot read well enough to understand the things they must read in order to get by in their daily life, such as job advertisements, past-due notices, newspaper articles, complex signs and posters, etc."
It might be useful to identify how many millions will not go online for these reasons and also that "knitting, gardening, travelling" may be more relevant and productive for some people compared to going online. Maybe some people look at a computer all day at work and the last thing they want to do is look at a computer when they get home.
This group might legitimately account for the many millions who have decided not to connect.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 8)
Comment number 9.
At 30th Mar 2010, U14402580 wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 9)
Comment number 10.
At 12th May 2010, U14460911 wrote:All this user's posts have been removed.Why?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 10)