The self-reinforcing effect of digital and social exclusion: The inequality loop

Abstract

Since an increasing number of daily activities are carried out online, an exclusion or limited access to the Internet prevent citizens from entering a world full of opportunities that cannot be accessed otherwise; in this sense, inclusion in the digital realm is strictly connected to social inclusion. Digital inclusion is not conceived as a mere dichotomy, access versus no access, but in terms of the degree to which e-inclusion improve wellbeing for individuals, community and society. Using a quantitative method based on a multivariate analysis, multiple correspondence analysis and cluster analysis, applied to a representative sample of UK citizens, this article sheds light onto the gradual process of digital inclusion, highlighting how social and digital inclusion are intertwined and how people who have one or more social or economic vulnerabilities are more likely to be in the group of those who are digitally excluded.