Digital inequality a risk to digital literacy

At the risk of sounding cliched, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely upended every domain in our lives. With stay-at-home restrictions imposed in about 70% of the countries, to varying extent, people have been turning to the cyberspace to carry out their work and human interactions. Remote working and learning have become the new norm, accelerated to unprecedented levels compared to pre-pandemic times.

According to reports published by the World Economic Forum and UNESCO, Internet use grew by as much as 70% globally during the initial months of the pandemic, The use of remote desktop and virtual collaboration tools have increased by more than 40% and 600% respectively. However, the same reports also point to a stark gap between those who are digitally connected and digitally able, and those who are not. For instance, 50% of the world’s student population were unable to carry out their daily learning because they do not have access to a computer at home.

Even a well-connected country like Singapore where the government has been continuously developing policies to close gaps between the digital haves and have-nots contends with gaps in digital ownership and use persist. The Annual Survey on Infocomm Usage in Households and by Individuals shows that in 2019, close to 90% of resident households had computer access. However, the figure is lower for public housing at 86%, and higher for private housing at 98%. And according to the Household Expenditure Survey published in 2019, only 45% of households living in 1-room and 2-room public housing flats have Internet access, compared to 96% of households living in private housing.

Such digital inequalities have far-reaching impact on people’s wellbeing in the real world.

At the most fundamental level, the gaps in people’s ability to use technology fully for information seeking exposes them to vulnerabilities. In the case of the pandemic, people’s lack of knowledge and understanding of the virus, and what they need to do puts them in physical danger. For example, people’s belief in fake cures such as the flu jab, antibiotics and the anti-malaria drug causes harm to themselves. They also pose risks to others when their belief confers a sense of false immunity and encourages non-compliance with stay-at-home and social distancing measures. This problem is made worse by people’s psychological biases and political partisanship.

There are also participatory gaps formed along income, age and occupations. For instance, when given the same technology, children from high-income families perform differently from children from low-income families. According to the World Economic Forum Report, only about 30% of the population in lower-income economies have basic digital skills, defined as the ability to copy or move a file or send emails, compared to about 60% for higher-income economies. Participation gaps where people’s ability to use technology fully for learning, networking and work further widen social and economic inequality.

Finally, the technology that people use to stay informed and connected to one another is also the same technology that is contributing to what the World Health Organisation calls an “infodemic”. Online misinformation and disinformation undermine national and global efforts to control the pandemic. Social media have been used by groups such as QAnon to promote distrust and hate between government and people, between countries, and among people.

In Singapore, efforts by the public, private and people sectors have helped alleviate problems caused by digital inequality. For example, the NEU PC Plus launched by the Infocomm Media Development Authority provides low-income households with the opportunity to buy brand new computers at an affordable price. The Mobile Access for Seniors Programme, a partnership between the Singapore government and telecommunication service providers, heavily subsidies mobile phones and mobile plans for the elderly.

An encouraging development is the rise of ground-up efforts to alleviate the harms and risks faced by vulnerable segments. Individuals in informal and formal groups, with their close proximity to the ground, seek to fill the gaps in digital access and literacy. Some initiatives include Engineering Good which involves volunteers in collecting and donating laptops to low-income students. Other groups like SG Bono and Readable Asia conducted classes for children on how to use the laptop and surf the Internet safely.

In conclusion, the gaps in digital access and competency are not merely situational but systemic in nature. They have to be addressed before we can reap the full benefits of digitalisation.

Dr Soon is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies where she heads the Society and Culture Department. She gave a presentation on “COVID-19 and Technological Transformation: Situational and Structural Considerations” during the Risk Quotient 2020.