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Digital Equity can close the Digital Divide

Digital Equity deals with, "a condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society, democracy and economy. Digital equity is an important component in making life more inclusive to the disadvantaged population and recovering from the economic losses of the pandemic" (Cruz 2022). When one party is disadvantaged from the digital world in some way, that therefore makes them unequal to the other. Creating Digital Equity helps close the Digital Divide.

The digital divide "is a term that refers to the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology (ICT), and those that don't or have restricted access. This technology can include the telephone, television, personal computers and internet connectivity" (Hanna N.d). The digital divide is created by inequalities dealing with access, education and in the end monetary assets.

While digital equity creates the digital divide and vice versa, simply providing communities with the access is not enough. Radovanovic states that, "Beside the divide in Internet use and in the context of technological infrastructure, there are other types of digital inequalities that move beyond internet access such as information literacy. Information literacy involves, for example, online search, digital, media and networked literacy or technical and cognitive, critical literacy skills in order to navigate online" (2011). Proving that while supplying those with devices in theory creating equity is not sufficient enough to level the playing field. I think that employing education about technology like the basic literacies discussed in my other post but also just basic technology skills is necessary. "The technology maintenance construct argues that even those who own laptops and cell-phones are not always able to rely on their technology. Digital disparities are often a consequence of bigger problems such as unemployment or illness, but they also contribute to those problems, and will increasingly do so with the rapid digitization of institutional and social infrastructure" as Gonzales, Calarco and Lynch mention, it is not about the access it self but more so the ability to use it (2018). Leveling the knowledge about technology will hopefully bridge the digital divide and also create digital equity.

I hope that the more we educate ourselves as we create our new digital world, that the more we create the digital equity that we so need.

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Digital Citizenship Importance and Understanding

Digital citizenship as described by Dr. Josie Ahlquist is "norms of behavior and practice with an: Ability to practice and advocate online behavior that demonstrates legal, ethical, safe, and responsible uses of information and communication technologies (Greenhow & Ribble, 2009, p. 125)." (Ahlquist 2014). This importance is to be able to advocate for ones self and have the knowledge to overall do so. As educators want to implement Digital Citizenship into their lessons they have to understand that, "This can be the difficult aspect of trying to interact with others online, everyone is given the opportunity to join this thing called the Internet and even though we try and stay with those most like us, it is almost impossible not to bump into others that want to try and change our minds, our beliefs." as Ribble, Bailey, and Ross describe (2004). Which leads me to my overall definition and description of Digital Citizenship. This can be seen as the overall importance and implementation to educate and inform everyone about the etiquette, dangers, and benefits that come when utilizing technologies like social media and the internet.

However, digital literacy can seem virtually the same as digital citizenship where they both relate to online and its functions but in fact there is a difference. All4Ed describes the difference where "Digital literacy refers to the skills and knowledge required to engage critically and creatively with digital technologies across a wide spectrum, while digital citizenship refers to doing the same discerningly and safely" (N.d). So, where digital literacy is skills and knowledge, digital citizenship is the application of those skills and knowledge in the real world.

I think that digital citizenship principles can be implemented by university educators and just overall influencer social awareness about the topic. I think the more it is discussed by reputable people the more it will get into the minds of students like me and my classmates. Especially because we have for the most part taught ourselves how to navigate online we are unaware of how we got here and how others might have troubles because we assume they know like us. Susan Fourtane states, "Today’s graduates are required to be good digital citizens as much as they need to be prepared to face the current and future labor market. Universities are asking academics to prepare the workforce of the future to be both ready to be an integral part of the work life ahead as well as graduating as good or better digital citizens," where it is arguably more important to teach older students the ins and outs of digital citizenship because they will be communicating as professionals in the real world (Fourtane 2021). If universities are expecting students to utilize online platforms in class and in the future then they should also foster the need for digital citizenship.

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Social Media and Participatory Culture

The participatory culture theory defines ideas that there are cultures in which participants are able to express their beliefs or creative measures to people who care about those said things. As similarly stated, "A participatory culture is also one in which members believe their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connection with one another", which therefore relates it to social media (Jenkins, Puroshotma, Clinton, Weigel, & Robison, 2009). Social media is a place where people can speak freely to anyone and everyone that is allowed to view ones information posted. Generally the people one is friends with on these platforms like Facebook or Twitter for example are friends that care what one has to say. Social media is a place for creative expression through art or singing but also great for sharing opinions and information therefore defining it as a participatory culture.

I think what motivates me to engage in social media and participatory culture is just the fear of missing out. Its almost hard to go a day without joining and engaging on social media. I feel like if I don't I will miss out on some news whether that be worldly related or just with friends and family. One point that was particularly interesting about this weeks reading is its point on the engagement of social media and technology yet lack of the same engagement in school work. The article states, "Many have argued that these new participatory cultures represent ideal learning environments. Gee (2004) calls such informal learning cultures “affinity spaces,” asking why people learn more, participate more actively, engage more deeply with popular culture than they do with the contents of their textbooks", which is exactly what I feel when doing work for school versus on my own (Jenkins, Puroshotma, Clinton, Weigel, & Robison, 2009). I have the will to learn more so online through social media and participatory cultures than through textbooks. Just as the article states it is because of the gap that is bridged through peer to peer teaching and learning that participatory cultures provide.

When I participate online I rarely actually post about myself. I like to like and share others posts and feel involved in their lives rather then telling all about mine. I like to share funny things and relatable things in hopes of generating traction to my business Facebook page for real estate which Hinton and Hijorth state as, " forwarding content to other users - often generically called 'user generated content' (UGC)" (Hinton & Hjorth, 2013). This is in hopes that the more people see me posting on social media the more they will see my name and associate me with being a real estate agent. This so far has worked it seems as there are more people reaching out about what I am up to because I sort of leave them guessing. I also feel that UGC is just a lot easier to participate in because all you have to do is share it and your name and post is out there without much thought. However when I do post about myself it is usually an event or important thing that was notable enough to post. I feel that if I post something non-important it feels sort of like I am so self-indulged that I just want people to look at me rather than an important event if that makes sense!

The specific apps that I like to use are Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Linked In. On Facebook it can be a lot easier to participate in a group setting because of their pages that you can join. I follow and a participant in pages that relate to something I am interested in including plants, my religion, buy and sell pages, and even neighborhood pages. These pages provide like minded people sharing related content that is mostly relevant and accurate. I like being apart of these groups because I know they are in some aspect similar to me. I use Linked In for business connections and Snapchat/Instagram for staying up to date with friends. That being said then I think for me Facebook has the most to offer for my business and personal use because of the various groups, pages and people I can contact with.

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Social Media and Connected Learning

I noticed from this weeks readings and assignments that technology is largely affecting almost everyone’s life and not always for the good. Technology can be great for learning and gaining knowledge about someone or something. However the more and more we become attached to technology the more fragile our emotional stability starts to become. Everyone on social media portrays their best self and for some this is far from their actual self. This can cause inaccurate detections of those around us causing us to become self conscious and insecure how we are. 

84% of those in between the age of 18 and 29 say they use Social Media apps like Instagram, Snapchat and Tiktok. I am in that age range and do not find these findings surprising. However, I also am actively involved on Facebook due to needing it for my Real Estate business. Given this I was surprised to learn that those in my age range did not state Facebook as their one of their top Social Media apps. Further findings from our readings this week also revealed that Youtube was the top social media app among all age categories with the most being the same 18 to 29 age range. This is intreating but not surprising, Youtube can be used for any type of learning known to man while also providing commentary and entertainment. 

In the reading from Common Sense Media, points further prove that teens now days are being greatly affected by social media negatively. Not only does social media allow for unrealistic standards but also open up young people to cyberbullying, low self esteem and social anxiety. What I found particularly interesting was that only 1 out of 10 teens experienced cyberbullying. While this number is still more than it should be I was surprised it was as low as it was. To me I think that cyberbullying can come in many types of forms and it could be possible that those being cyberbullied may have no idea because it is being done behind their back through private group chats and other private social media groups. 

The Common Sense Media article also states great benefits to social media besides the obvious that we can learn valuable information at the drop of a dime. The articles states that social media is great way for teens to express themselves openly. Specifically 27% of teens state this to be true. The most interesting part of the article is the infographic that shows that teens feel more positively about social media than negatively since it makes them feel more confident, less lonely, less depressed, less anxious, more confident and more popular. I think this is quite interesting especially since many articles portray social media to be more negatively impacting teens than positively. 

Overall I think everyone is affected by social media but we need to be aware of how it is affecting us. If we start to feel anxious or depressed we should ask ourselves if it is because of social media or our phones. I think self autonomy is the key to success in being well rounded beings because social media can beneficial in the right ways as stated this week.