General Article Digital divide risks becoming a gulf

Topic Selected: Internet
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The Internet seems to be all around us and it’s easy to assume everybody uses it. Yet the stark fact is that about 11 million people in the UK do not use the Internet at home.

The latest research from the Communications Consumer Panel warns that there is a serious risk that public policy is underestimating the challenge of supporting people to get online and stay online. Panel Chair Jo Connell explains how its 2012 report Bridging the gap: sustaining online engagement explores people’s digital needs, perceptions and experiences, and recommends actions to support more people online.

Bridging the gap highlights that while there is a drive for public and commercial services to be online, just over one in five UK adults (22%) in the UK still do not use the Internet at home. In some areas around the UK this percentage is far higher, for example, as it is in the most deprived areas of Glasgow. This means that a significant minority of people risk being excluded from online benefits and ...

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