Convergence Conversation

Higher Education means higher connectivity

The Office for National Statistics have released a report looking at the links between UK households, individuals, and the Internet.

The report marks a 6% rise in the number of UK households with broadband access, moving from 51% last year up to 57% in 2008. Other interesting facts emerge throughout the report, but one integral conclusion clearly deserves particular attention....

“The better educated you are, the more likely you are to go online!”

Now this wont be shocking news to many of you, given that education is linked to wealth, and internet access and a computer evidently cost money.

The Internet revolution has changed business models, social interaction, shopping methods, and dating methods....its even changed warfare strategies. However, thus far the UK is yet to see a truly equal and open approach to the Internet that is all encompassing across classes, from the ill-educated to the over-educated.

Given that the Government, the BBC, and the majority of businesses continue to increase the number of applications and services online; those members of the UK population without internet access will continue to lose out in an ever increasing number of ways. Therefore large swathes of the population are and will be marginalised from future democratic opportunities, social interaction, and the all round ease of the online world. Can you really imagine running your life without the internet today?

Its true that the Government have invested in schemes to ensure poorer students have access to computers at home, but what good are computers today without the Internet? The ‘Home Access Taskforce’ was established to tackle this precise problem, with many regional development agencies beginning to help poorer communities with internet access. Excellent then...something is being doing to eradicate the disproportionate access to services between rich and poor due to financial pressures. There is of course the problem of Next Generation Access (NGA) costs to be answered.

However, even broadband is fairly cheap today isn’t it, and its not really going to be the individual that directly foots the bill for Next Generation Access is it? Added to this the majority of features and websites on the internet will be available with broadband, when NGA services finally come to the masses. It may not then be a matter of cost. Maybe there’s another point here that I’m missing? The disproportionate levels of internet access between the educated and ill-educated (which I’ve rather crudely pushed into a poor and wealthy comparison), may not be due to a monetary decision, but rather to a lack of education regarding the internet itself. If you don’t know how to use something, or aren’t aware of the benefits of it….why would you use it.

Therefore, whilst resources must be put into full broadband coverage and NGA, a substantial level of funding must also go to educating and enlightening those poorer communities within the UK to the benefits of access to the Internet in the first place. If the true benefits of the World Wide Web aren’t enjoyed by everyone, then the all encompassing democratic nature of the Internet will be lost.