Second-Level Digital Divide: Mapping Differences in People's Online Skills

TL;DR

This paper investigates the second-level digital divide by analyzing differences in online skills, revealing significant variability in how individuals search for information and the factors influencing their online proficiency.

Contribution

It introduces a nuanced approach to digital divide research by focusing on online skills and their determinants, moving beyond binary Internet usage classifications.

Findings

Large variance in online search strategies

Demographics and social support influence online skills

Experience and autonomy affect user proficiency

Abstract

Much of the existing approach to the digital divide suffers from an important limitation. It is based on a binary classification of Internet use by only considering whether someone is or is not an Internet user. To remedy this shortcoming, this project looks at the differences in people's level of skill with respect to finding information online. Findings suggest that people search for content in a myriad of ways and there is a large variance in how long people take to find various types of information online. Data are collected to see how user demographics, users' social support networks, people's experience with the medium, and their autonomy of use influence their level of user sophistication.