New paper reveals the importance of different types of barriers to digital engagement via proxy internet use

While digital divides are steadily becoming less prominent, there are however still many persons – in particular among older adults – who are not online. Among those, a large percentage asks internet users in their social circles to do something online for them – a practice that is defined as proxy internet use.

Several studies around the world have documented various facets and implications of this phenomenon, yet little evidence exists about how different types of barriers (such as access, motivation, costs, etc.) that prevent people from engaging with digital content are related to proxy internet use.

Now, a new paper from the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Centre for Social Informatics (CSI) published in the Telecommunications Policy journal has found that at least two types of barriers are of significant importance for understanding engagement of internet non-user in proxy internet use.

“In analyzing four types of reasons for internet non-use—those related to interest, access, costs and skills—the results show that access issues are negatively related to engagement in proxy internet use (PIU). Conversely, reasons related to skills issues are positively related to engagement in PIU.” Since prior research has shown that access to online services through proxy internet use offers an important degree of digital inclusion, the results of this study have important policy implications. “For example, policies directed at providing and maintaining internet access at a household level may result in non-users’ increased opportunities for PIU. In contrast, skills policies should be directed at creating opportunities for informal and person-centred learning of digital skills, considering that non-users who are more aware of their deficiency in skills might be more aware of online opportunities.”

The paper “Obtaining indirect internet access: An examination how reasons for internet non-use relate to proxy internet use” is a result of dr. Darja Grošelj’s post-doc project New technologies, new inequalities? Theoretical and empirical investigation of the role of mobile Internet access in differential engagement with online services and her collaboration with dr. Andraž Petrovčič (CSI) and dr. Bianca C. Reisdorf (University of North Carolina at Charlotte).