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Rural life and internet accessibility: A partnership of exclusion?Lorraine FianderPage 1 ¦ Page 2 ¦ Page 3 ¦ Page 4 ¦ Printer-friendly version 4. Barriers to accessThe main barrier to access is a lack of basic skills and computer phobia or fear [19]. This is arguably the first time in history when children have had more knowledge than their parents on a subject. Many parents, whose households possess a computer, do not have the ability to use them, while their children appear to be very comfortable using the technology. The government is attempting to address the skill barrier with its UK Online programme. The network of UK Online centres are targeted at enabling those who may not otherwise have access, through lack of skills and lack of money, to participate in online communication. Promoting the government initiative to address this issue, at the Drapers City Foyer UK online centre in Bethnal Green, David Blunkett said: 'The [U.K. Online] centres aim to attract people who may feel technology is not for them, such as people with basic skills needs, lone parents, people over 60, those with disabilities, people from minority ethnic groups and unemployed people.' The second barrier to access is lack of access to computers and the Internet. Although the government is endeavouring to offer every member of society access to a public computer, this will take time: 'People living on isolated farms who could benefit from access to the Internet will be targeted. Some will receive digital television set-top boxes giving access to the worldwide web. Those who receive computers will also be given training about how to use them and encouraged to visit a specially designed website which will show them how to look for work on the internet' [20] By using alternative technology, e.g. digital television, the government is hoping that the population, who would not access the Internet by computer, will have the technology to access it in their homes, even if people are unable to afford a computer. Stephen Byers, then Trade Secretary, said in a report in the Guardian Newspaper (16/4/01) 'Already, one in three households, and one in two families with children, have digital TV. We need to ensure that Britain leads the world in the development of digital television, that every community shares in the benefits, and that we don't see the creation of a digital divide.' Van Dijk [21] states that the take up of the computer will follow the same pattern of the take up of the telephone, which took approximately 70 years to achieve general diffusion, rather than the assumption that the pattern would be nearer that for television and radio, which was much shorter. It should be noted that, comparatively, new technologies are much more expensive than old ones, and although computer technology is now much cheaper than 10 years ago, it is still out of reach for many people. Many people also worry about the extra cost incurred in connection charges to the Internet. The third issue of access is that the Internet and computers may not be sufficiently user friendly, although with the arrival of Microsoft Windows GUI platforms, users find it easier to use personal computers today, than when DOS was the operating system. An issue often not considered in the issues of access, is the design of computer operating systems [22]. Windows is written for an English speaking, U.S. cultured society, by members of the ethnic majority. Although Windows does include additional language software, available to download freely, it is necessary to understand the procedure for this task - not an undertaking within the capabilities of a computer novice, a person who is computer phobic or who has difficulty with English. The final barrier to access could be seen to be an issue of ‘state of mind’. Many people, who overcome the fear of computers and can afford to connect to the Internet, use their computers only as a word processor. This may be related to lack of use of computers at their place of work, or lack of knowledge of other applications. It may also be due to a fear of the unknown in the same way that people, who are scared of using a computer at all, fear technology. Continuing training for people competent in word processing packages should address this issue, such as the U.K. Online opportunities offered by the government and the European Computer Driving License - a certificate for all round computer competence offered by increasing numbers of further education establishments. It can be seen that there are barriers to access of the Internet that may prevent people from using the technology for a variety of reasons. These barriers are not necessarily financial, but could cause or increase social exclusion for those affected. As has previously been mentioned, social exclusion is not merely a financial issue, but can be caused by a variety of factors for different people. It is possible for the government to address the first three barriers to access as these involve factors that can be physically addressed - providing free computer lessons, hardware and user-friendly software, although the fourth is an issue that only the individual can address. To bring the issues into a focus, if a person lived in an area poorly served by public transport and wished to use the Internet, but had to catch a bus, travel for an hour and then wait several hours for a return trip on the bus to reach home, how motivated would they be to either undertake the bus journey or bother to use the Internet, would they take a trip to their local library just to get online if it such a problem? If the access is free it is likely that it will have to pre-booked, causing more complication. How will this affect the concept of e-citizenship, if only those who have ready access or are very motivated will take part in being an e-citizen? Many people cannot be motivated to vote once every 3 – 5 years, arguably a basic requirement of taking part of the citizenship of a country – will they be more motivated to take part if Internet access is such a difficult process? Those living in rural areas often have problems with adequate public transport, live too far from a public library to walk and cannot have broadband access to enable fast Internet access – what implications does the concept of being an e-citizen have for them? Footnotes19. Van Dijk, J. 1997. Widening Information Gaps and Policies of Prevention return 20. Sylvester, R. (March 16th 2001) Free computers for poor isolated areas, Daily Telegraph. return 21. van Dijk, op. cit. return 22. van Dijk, op. cit. return | |