Substituting Computers for Mobile Phones? An Analysis of the Effect of Device Divide on Digital Skills in Brazil

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the phenomenon of device divide in the Brazilian context in order to understand how different Internet access devices and sociodemographic factors influence the development of digital skills. The research uses the microdata of 2014 and 2016 editions of a Brazilian nationwide survey named ICT Households survey. The main findings show that mobile devices are widely used by Brazilian Internet users. However, while in upper classes this device plays the role of complementary access to other devices, allowing users to access the Internet using computer and mobile platforms, for lower-income groups mobile is the only means of Internet access, substituting the use of computer equipment. The results also demonstrate that Internet users who access the Internet using both computational and mobile devices exhibit the highest level of digital skills. In contrast, users connecting exclusively via mobile show lower levels of digital skills which might reduce their effectiveness in using the Internet. These outcomes show the relevance of understanding the conditions of Internet access as well as their implication for the development of digital skills and provision of Internet services.

Needs Assessment for behavioral parent training for ADHD in Brazil

“…BPT programs have been offered online in other countries with emerging empirical support (Döpfner et al, 2020;DuPaul et al, 2018;Williams & Beidas, 2019). Many Brazilians access information online with cell phones, which are widely available even amongst low-income communities (de Araujo & Reinhard, 2019;Nemer, 2018). Phone-based digital platforms may be considered for dissemination of behavioral parent training for families of children with mild to moderate ADHD.…”

Why Device-Related Digital Inequalities Matter for E-Government Engagement?

“…In this sense, not every device provides equal benefits when it comes to using the Internet. Even considering the rapid increase in their functionality and advantages in terms of mobility, mobile devices are not equal to laptops or computers (de Araujo and Reinhard, 2019; van Deursen & van Dijk, 2019). Computers have key advantages over mobile phones when it comes to using the Internet for study or work.…”

“…Within developing economies, lower-income households’ Internet uptake seems to have been driven considerably by mobile-only Internet access. These are the cases of several Latin American nations such as Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, and Brazil (de Araujo and Reinhard, 2019, or Pavez & Correa, 2020; AGESIC-INE, 2020; CETIC, 2019b, 2019a; Trucco and Palma, 2020); the latter being the context of this study.…”

“…Whereas initially considered the luxury of a few, several technological innovations paved the way for more equal access to the Internet (Dodel, 2021;Helsper, 2021). Among these innovations, Internet-connected mobile devices are probably the key drivers of the recent expansion of Internet access in lower-income countries and households (de Araujo and Reinhard, 2019). Whereas the democratization of Internet access is unanimously positive, there have been concerns that mobile-only modes of access-a process sometimes referred as "mobile leapfrogging"-could also be increasing new types of digital inequalities (de Araujo and Reinhard, 2019;Pavez & Correa, 2020;van Deursen & van Dijk, 2019).…”

“…Also referred to in the literature as the “mobile underclass,” the phenomenon has attracted little scholarly attention in very unequal contexts such as Latin America (i.e., see de Araujo and Reinhard, 2019, or Pavez & Correa, 2020 for some exceptions).…”