10am – 11am (BST) 15 June 2021

Professor Simeon Yates, University of Liverpool

Digital inequalities – what they are and their consequences

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted for the public and policy makers the size and implications of digital inequalities in the UK and globally.  The ‘digital divide’ is not a new idea. It has been explored since the 1970s as telecommunications, computing, ICT, or information “divides”.  More recently research has focused on digital exclusion and inclusion and the post pandemic buzz-words are digital and data poverty.  This lecture will explore the nature of digital inequalities across access, skills, affordability and motivation.  It will then examine and consider the implications of these inequalities.  These implications cut across and are intertwined with citizens economic, social and cultural lives and opportunities.  The talk builds on two decades of empirical research – both quantitative and qualitative – conducted in collaboration with regional, national and international stakeholders, charities and governments.  The lecture will conclude with thoughts on the key next steps for research, practitioners and policy makers.

Speaker’s Bio:

Simeon is Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research Environment and Postgraduate Research. His research on the social, political and cultural impacts of digital media includes a long-standing focus on digital media and interpersonal interaction. More recently, he has worked on projects that address issues of digital inclusion and exclusion. His prior work covered topics such as the use of digital technologies in the workplace, digital media use during crises and ICT use by the security services. Simeon has been researching the impacts of the internet and digital media on language and culture since 1990. His PhD thesis (1993) is a large-scale linguistic comparison of speech, writing and online interaction. Subsequent published work has covered analyses of gender differences in computer-mediated communication (CMC), gender and computer gaming, email and letter writing and science in the mass media. Simeon has written text books on social research methods — in particular, linguistic and discourse analytic methods.