Session Chair: Giselle Newton
Presentation 1
Digital inequality in mobile news consumption and diversity in the US: Combining large-scale user log and survey data
Pu Yan(1), Jie Zhao(2), Ke Li(3), Schroeder Ralph(4)
1: Peking University; 2: University of Manchester, United Kingdom; 3: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne; 4: University of Oxford
As mobile applications further integrate into society, ICT is transforming how people develop their daily information-seeking practices. The second- and third-level digital divides are often observed in internet users' news consumption behaviours, yet such disparities have primarily been discussed among mobile news consumers, while new information exposure types in the digital space continue to evolve. This research is grounded in media ownership and multi-dimensional digital divide theories, operationalizing the measurement of the usage divide in terms of attention, attitude discrepancy, and consumption sources. It adopts an empirical approach using 5,253,530 mobile trajectory data points from 642 unique participants over a 9-month timeframe, supporting trajectory and sequence analyses to reveal inequalities in mobile news consumption behaviour. It emphasizes the significance of socio-economic factors in debunking the filter bubble, including income level, education level, and political interest. Additionally, the paper highlights the importance of search engines as a major channel for new exposure, contributing to a diverse information diet. This research offers valuable insights for researchers and policymakers seeking to understand the multidimensionality of the digital divide and social inequality in the era of tech giants and digital platforms.
Presentation 2
Digital Social Connection at the Lonely Urban Fringe
Milovan Savic, Anthony McCosker, Jane Farmer
Swinburne University of Technology
This study explores how individuals in outer metropolitan areas use digital tools to maintain social connections in settings with physical isolation and limited social infrastructure. Based on interviews with 44 participants, the research identifies four layers of digital social connection: close relationships, social support networks, group participation, and community engagement. The findings show that people use a variety of digital platforms, such as messaging apps and social media, to navigate these layers. The study emphasizes the role of digital literacy and adaptability in fostering social connection and suggests that local governments and community organizations can apply these insights to better support residents in these areas.
Presentation 3
DEFINING DIGITAL RIGHTS IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH: MAPPING REGIONAL DIVERSITY AND POWER RELATIONS ACROSS THE NGO INDUSTRY
Peter Chonka, Ashwin Mathew, Elisa Oreglia, Zala Pochat Krizaj
King's College London, United Kingdom
Global civil society – encompassing a wide range of non-profit, non-governmental organisations – has long been conceptualised as an ‘industry’ (Powell and Seddon, 1997). Notwithstanding their normative (rather than productive) commitments towards ‘development’, humanitarianism, human rights, ecological or other global problems, NGOs have often been critically understood as operating within their own self-sustaining political economies that reflect north-South power imbalances and dominant frameworks of neoliberal global governance (Hearn, 2007). Over the last two decades, the concept of ‘digital rights’ has proliferated within global civil society, and an entire subset of technology-focused human rights organisations has emerged. Based on a comparative mapping of digital rights organisations in different world regions and qualitative analysis of their promotional material, this paper offers three contributions to the understanding of this burgeoning area of global civil society as a distinctive industry. Firstly, it compares the different ways in which the amorphous concept of ‘digital rights’ is defined and acted on in various regions. Secondly, focusing on Africa-based organisations, it analyses how varying understandings and advocacy around ‘digital rights’ reflect different regional experiences with digital transformations. Thirdly, it builds on existing research on the political economy of NGO funding - by states, big tech companies and philanthropic organisations - to show how differing conceptualisations of ‘digital rights’ can both reflect and influence these power imbalances. Overall, the paper points to the need to conceptualise the discourse of digital rights with specific reference to regional variation and global inequalities.
Presentation 4
No Semi-Periphery or Global South: A Review of Geographical Bias in Digital Activism Research
Suay Melisa Özkula(1), Paul Reilly(2)
1: University of Salzburg, Austria; 2: University of Glasgow, UK
The seemingly global nature of hashtags often makes it hard to assess which regions are being studied in digital activism research. This systematic review explores geographic representation in this field (N= 315 articles) through a coding of case study location, author affiliation, methods of data collection and analysis, and researched social media platforms. The results show a preponderance of Global North/Majority cases and non-region-specific social media groupings such as hashtag publics, particularly in research employing digital methods. As such, extant research in the field has disproportionately produced what we term Northern Visibilities - groups and movements based in Global North countries (above all the US) and using platforms popular within them. We use the findings of the review to critically interrogate notions of the Global South in digital social research and provide recommendations for rectifying geopolitical underrepresentation through methodological choices towards more inclusive research practice.
