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The hidden cost of innovation: how digital inequality impacts society

UNSW Sydney

Key Facts:

“Nearly one in four Australians face digital exclusion,” says Dr Watson.

“This means almost 6 million Australians have difficulty accessing the internet. This spans physical access, being able to afford the internet, and being confident and capable with their own abilities."

The digital divide is escalating, creating barriers to belonging and wellbeing for many Australians, says UNSW Sydney sociologist Dr Ash Watson.

Digital technology is pervasive in the lives of Australians: from access to banking, government services and news to applying for jobs or housing and keeping in touch with family and friends, digital technology has become integral to modern life.

For some people these changes have made daily life much easier. But this rapid growth in digital technology is also impacting the digital divide, says sociologist Dr Ash Watson, an academic at UNSW Sydney’s Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, who studies the social and cultural impacts of digital technologies.

National data from the 2023 Australian Digital Inclusion Index showed that 23.6% of the population is excluded or highly excluded from fully participating in contemporary social, economic and civic life due to barriers to technology use.

“Nearly one in four Australians face digital exclusion,” says Dr Watson.

“This means almost 6 million Australians have difficulty accessing the internet. This spans physical access, being able to afford the internet, and being confident and capable with their own abilities."

“The big consequence is that people can struggle to fully participate and feel that they don’t belong in Australian society as a result.”

What creates the digital divide?

There are three main reasons people get left behind by the increasing requirement to use digital technology to participate in society: cost, access and ability.

“It is very costly to keep up with what have become the basic digital technologies that people are assumed to have access to these days. Things like an internet connection at home with good data allowances and personal devices like smartphones are expensive and not everyone can afford to set themselves up to participate,” says Dr Watson.

Access to digital technology can be affected in a number of ways. Physical access is a problem for many parts of rural and remote Australia, though urban areas also experience issues like blackspots that prevent people from effectively and consistently connecting to the internet.

“It’s complex – something like Telehealth, which is seen as a way to address the problem of distance for people who can’t easily travel or those in rural and remote areas, is unable to be implemented in some areas as the internet connection isn’t strong enough where it’s needed,” says Dr Watson.

“Other accessibility issues relate to how the technology is created. Many devices are designed first and foremost for able-bodied people who speak English, so it can be harder to use digital technologies if English is not your first language, or if you have vision or hearing impairments, or other difficulties in using digital technology,” says Dr Watson.

People’s skills and digital literacy are also a challenge.

“Think for example about skills like typing on a keyboard or smartphone screen, searching the internet, remembering passwords and logging into accounts, and navigating a digital platform or fill in an online form. These are all essential,” Dr Watson says.

Then there’s the ability to evaluate the legitimacy of online information such as news sources and scam emails – digital literacy includes the capacity to use current technologies and to keep pace with additional change.

“Most importantly, these issues compound. We have seen this just recently with the 3G switch off. Some people lost their physical access to this connection and then struggled to afford a new smartphone that was 4G or 5G-enabled. Others who could afford a new smartphone struggled to use it because it was so different. Others struggled to understand the change altogether,” says Dr Watson.

Digital exclusion is a growing problem

Digital exclusion affects a significant proportion of the population, particularly people who have lower levels of employment, education and income, people who live in rural and remote areas, people living with a disability, Indigenous Australians, people who are of culturally diverse backgrounds with English as a second language, and older Australians.  

“This is not just people who are currently over the age of 65,” says Dr Watson. “The pace of innovation means that even those of us who feel quite comfortable using digital technologies now can be at risk in the future as change happens really fast.”

The implications of not keeping pace with digital change are growing more significant.

“If digital technology is increasingly the ticket that gets you in the door of belonging and you can’t access that ticket, it’s clear the consequence is that people become disconnected from society,” says Dr Watson.

How do we fix the problem?

Social inequity and digital inequality are strongly connected, explains Dr Watson.

“We need to understand how digital change and social inequity are interconnected and becoming amplified into new forms of exclusion and marginalisation,” she says.

“For example, shifts towards online work, learning, care and social life are creating new inequalities and inequities.”

Improving people’s physical access to technology is one part of bridging the divide but more needs to be done to address complex the social issues that impede digital inclusion.

“Even though the scale of the problem is significant and pressing, great work is being done in local communities to start to address some of these issues. Public libraries, for example, are doing fantastic work around digital inclusion,” says Dr Watson.  

Libraries have long been community hubs that increase social connectedness, facilitate learning and provide access to information.

“Importantly, library resources include free access to technological facilities and support – desktop computers, internet connection, lessons on digital skills, and on-hand assistance. They are a place for people to access the information, help and resources they need to use digital technology and participate in society,” says Dr Watson.

Dr Watson is currently researching how digital technologies affect people’s sense of belonging and inclusion. Pilot research with Randwick City Library highlighted the complex social and cultural factors influencing digital inclusion, such as family ties, workplace environments, and non-digital social activities like hobbies, leisure and exercise.

A new project in partnership with the State Library of NSW will expand this work. Dr Watson will lead a team including Associate Professor Amelia Johns (UTS), Scientia Professor Toby Walsh (UNSW), and Cameron Morley (SLNSW), funded by the UNSW-UTS Trustworthy Digital Society initiative. The team will create living labs and conduct interviews across NSW, partnering with public libraries to better understand and address the social impacts of digital technology.

“The social consequences of digital exclusion are escalating. It’s important we keep working on ways to intervene, and to change our thinking from technology first to people first when building our digital society,” Dr Watson says.

Contact details:

Samantha Dunn

UNSW Sydney

[email protected]

0414 924 364