Differences in the digital home lives of young people in New Zealand

Abstract

Digital technology is changing every aspect of life from how we communicate to the way we learn. International trends would suggest that digital access is becoming increasingly widespread in developed countries. But general trends may hide the fact that some households still do not have access to the internet for a variety of reasons. Differences in digital access and use, particularly along socio‐economic lines, may be less visible but are still present. This paper reports on a two‐phase study that explores home digital access and use of young people (16–17–years‐old) from a range of socio‐economic backgrounds across New Zealand. Phase one sought to establish what home access is available, while the second phase explores what kinds of digital technologies are used and for what purpose among a subset of young people. Results indicate that differences in digital access do exist among young people from different socio‐economic backgrounds. These differences include the number of digital devices in the home, the types of devices available, and whether the device(s) are shared or individually owned. These findings are particularly important in light of the finding that these young people perceived that digital access and use at school is inadequate and lagging behind everyday use. This suggests that there is still a considerable way to go to ensure equal digital opportunities for all.

Mental health and quality of life for people with rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis in Aotearoa New Zealand following the COVID-19 national lockdown

“…The current patient sample, however, may have been self-selecting as a group with good access to IT/internet and higher electronic literacy. Many individuals in New Zealand, especially those in areas with lower socioeconomic deciles, may not have had access to online healthcare at home, and this would likely exacerbate isolation and health inequality during lockdown [50]. A more representative sample inclusive of a wide range of socioeconomic deciles may have allowed the present study to assess whether digital inequality was present.…”

New Zealand Teens’ Digital Profile: A Factsheet

“…In 2017, a Victoria University study explored the impact of new technologies on the education and learning experiences of children (Lips et al, 2017), while another study (Hartnett, 2017) focused on the differences in digital access and use based on the socioeconomic background of older teenagers.…”

ICTs as an Antidote to Hardship and Inequality

“…The domestic and international evidence shows, for instance, that the targeting of families, children and individuals living in hardship, and encouraging their take-up of newly available ICTs, can be challenging. Reasons include the lived realities of some poor, such as a high degree of transience (20/20 Trust, 2017, p.12), competition at home towards children or young people's access to devices (Hartnett, 2016;Lips et al, 2017, p.33), lack of awareness about ICTs' benefits or the motivation to adopt them (Sylvester, Toland and Parore, 2017), vulnerabilities of some kinds of policies to abuse by recipients and fraud (Davies, 2016), and ongoing concerns about the real and perceived costs of accessing and using ICTs. Also no doubt at play would be the influence of broader societal views, such as ideas that anyone who wants an ICT should pay for it, or that the poor are differently and especially ill-equipped to deal with the downsides of ICT's (see Britz, 2004, for a survey).…”