Unplugged — The Dangers of Being “Offline” in an Online World
Our Digital Society
For most of us, the internet and involvement in digital society is ever-present. When we’re at work, in our cars, in our homes, and in our pockets. Some of us can’t even turn our light bulbs on when the connection drops! It’s how you tax your car, pay your bills, check your bank account, and how you organise your social life. It seems essential to modern life then, right? Some people, however, aren’t connected.
There are many reasons why some people aren’t online. Some people struggle with computer literacy or they’re fearful of scammers. Others might not have access to the connection speeds or devices required for the modern internet. (The median website size tripled in size between 2011 and 2018.) Some might be priced out of internet access… or it could be a choice. But what effect does this have on their lives, and what does their future hold?
Availability
Only 83% of rural areas receive “fast” fixed broadband service in the UK. 4G coverage also only covers 86% of the country, again falling short in rural areas. This leaves rural areas underserved, and some households without access entirely. The levels of internet access available here are insufficient to watch a video in real time, and it would be a struggle to load webpages in a timely manner.
This can affect the education of students with the amount of online work being set increasing. Students lacking easy access to these platforms will struggle to complete assignments and are less likely to willingly look deeper into subjects.
Literacy
Technical literacy is an important part of modern life, yet there is a drastic difference in competency throughout the population. Some struggle to learn and some were never taught how to use technology. Others struggle with literacy in general, and struggle with the text-based interfaces used in technology.
Functional literacy is defined as having poor literacy skills yet being able to function to a basic degree. 1/6 people in England and 1/4 in Scotland are considered to have poor literacy skills, so it seems clear that a sizable part of the population have some struggles with computer literacy.
Safety
Abstaining from online life could be due to safety concerns, too. There has been an increase in scammer activity that has been targeting those who struggle with tech literacy. This has led to some people staying offline in a bid to protect themselves.
This can be counterproductive, as being offline reduces scam awarenessm potentially making one vulnerable to other scams like the post office scam which usually uses mobile phone texts as a medium, as they are less likely to be informed in advance and then are less likely to report the scam (which is often done online).
Finances
Online banking has revolutionised the banking industry. 93% of people in the UK use online banking, and as a result, bank branches have been slowly closing in lower traffic areas, such as the Barclays Rossendale branch. Unfortunately, this means that those most likely to need a bank branch are less likely to have a branch local to them. This increases the difficulty for offline people to manage their finances, pay bills and access better deals. The move to online has also affected commerce, with many businesses cutting back their brick-and-mortar stores. Better deals can also be found online, meaning those without access to the internet are missing out on better deals too.
Social Engagement
Much of our social interactions, especially post COVID-19 pandemic, are conducted online. Social media has become the “new town square” and is often also used to manage real world meetups with friend groups. Those who are not online might miss out on these social events and are more likely to be lonely. However, it has worryingly been suggested by some studies that increased internet usage can aid in disconnecting a lonely person from the real world which can exasperate their despair.
Work
There are an increasing number of online job opportunities available in a wide range of industries. These jobs can offer better rates of pay than local jobs. Lacking access to these opportunities can limit one’s career prospects. Many traditional “real world” jobs also require a level of online presence, or can greatly benefit from such, for example by using an online portfolio or work related media sites such as LinkedIn. Office work has become computer dominated, social and care workers are required to submit reports online and building work requires emailing, file transfers and stock acquisition. Online tools are vital in modern productivity and are a work multiplier.
Healthcare
Doctors practices and the NHS are moving towards online experience too in a bid to reduce work loads on GP offices. Many GPs have prescriptions online, with doctors even fulfilling requests for medication online via pharmacies. These systems could be hard for many people to use due to limited development budgets and the requirement for the sites to be low bandwidth for those with poor connections. This does raise the barrier for entry, as these sites are sometimes less intuitive to use as the User Experience (UX) improvements seen over the last decade use a significantly increased amount of data to be stored and sent. This can lead to those who are “offline” to miss out on healthcare, negatively impacting their health, as online is the first listed way that is recommended for booking appointments.
Implications
To conclude, whatever the reason, there is a disadvantage to being “offline” in the modern era, online is becoming the new default. Whether financial, social or health, digital society ‘membership’ affects all aspects of life, and has potential to make further impact as the internet expands into everyday life. Will being offline turn you into a second-class citizen? It is everyone’s duty and social responsibility to help improve equality in the space so nobody is left behind, and to ensure viable alternatives are available for those who wish to abstain, to ensure that a divide between the online and the offline does not occur.
Course Reflection
As a Computer Science student, much of my writing is done in the form of technical reports and code explanations. To evaluate the world that I am going to be a part of building with a social focus is refreshing, and provided challenges to ponder over.
Learning to write in an engaging way to a wider audience with varying levels of technical knowledge was a new task. As a writer, I struggle to meet a balance between under explaining concepts and over explaining them. I often struggled to meet wordcounts from either side, either having to pad out or cut out content. I initially fell afoul of the limited wordcounts of this unit, but as the unit progressed, I improved at meeting them.
The assessment methodology was also novel, as the ability to see previous blogs and detailed rubrics was useful to gauge the quality of my own writing. This helped with the change in style required for blog writing, but also allowed for further reading into topics that I would otherwise not have had the time to otherwise.
Not everybody views technology the same. For some, the continuous march forwards is a good thing. Others are more sceptical…
This course has highlighted important aspects of the digital society that we all inhabit. Being constantly plugged in has a way of limiting one’s perspective on digital life, and taking the time to explore the implications of our digital inhabited digital world has been eye-opening. It has also highlighted the dangers of becoming too reliant on digital space, which many think do not apply to them, and helped me to evaluate my own relationship with the digital world.
My post on Robotics in Care was an interesting look into the future of our digital world and it’s impact on our lives. Exploring the legalities, technicalities and practicalities of the technology has provided insight for modules I take outside of this unit (where I learnt how to program robots, but not why I program them). As my profession is hard to automate, this blog served as a reminder that there are many people who have to fear being “automated out” of the workforce, and being made redundant. My creations could have great, terrible, power. This is why ethics are so important.
I am constantly attached to a screen. While mostly necessary, this unit has made me take a closer look at the composition of my screen time. The number of screens surrounding us every day, now the requirement for 2FA means that devices are everywhere, and the focus required for efficient working adds another level of effort to tasks. Adding a time limit to social media has improved the quality of screen time, and allowed for a reduction in total online time.
From now on I will make a conscious effort to unplug from my digital self, and consider how others could continue to have that choice.
