DEMIC DEAL-BREAKERS AND THE STATISTICAL IMAGINARY OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

Authors

  • Ellie Rennie Swinburne Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology

Abstract

In this paper I challenge current conceptions of digital inclusion and exclusion as they are conceived through statistical analysis. Drawing on the findings of a multi-year study of internet adoption in remote Aboriginal communities in central Australia, I demonstrate how remote Indigenous sociality is leading to a particular enactment of ‘digital choices’ (Dutton et al. 2007) that cannot be understood through statistics alone. These choices are leading to an ‘all or nothing’ scenario that manifests at the group level as a digital divide. The paper proposes a new theory – the ‘demic dealbreaker’ – to explain differential rates of broadband adoption across remote Aboriginal communities.

Downloads

Published

2015-10-31

How to Cite

Rennie, E. (2015). DEMIC DEAL-BREAKERS AND THE STATISTICAL IMAGINARY OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE. AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 5. Retrieved from https://spir.aoir.org/ojs/index.php/spir/article/view/8531

Issue

Section

Papers R