End Digital Poverty Day 2023

The 12 September 2023 is End Digital Poverty Day here in the UK. The Digital Poverty Alliance, which organises End Digital Poverty Day, defines digital poverty as "the inability to interact with the online world fully, when where and how an individual needs to." Digital poverty exacerbates and is exacerbated by other inequalities, and is also both a product and a cause of other forms of socioeconomic disadvantage.

Digital exclusion is a growing issue nationally, and we are already seeing a noticeable increase in inequalities due to the "digital by default" approach being adopted by many important services. For example, 1 in 5 people have stopped using products or services because they're only available online. This is a real problem, as education, healthcare, job opportunities, banking and many other important features of our daily lives are now mostly online.

Data shows that the North East of England is the most digitally excluded region in the UK, and Gateshead, despite being a large and diverse borough, has a lot in common with the national picture in terms of lack of devices, connectivity, and basic digital skills.

Since starting my current post as Gateshead Digital Inclusion Health and Social Care Project Manager at Connected Voice, I have been having constant conversations about all things digital with organisations that work with people living in Gateshead. These conversations have highlighted how one of the most pressing issues across the board is poverty, which encompasses digital poverty, too.

Many people are having to make harder and harder choices every day, often between the most basic needs such as food and fuel. Along with these material and practical challenges, people are facing the mental and emotional burdens of preventing and facing crisis.

Digital is embedded in all domains. What has emerged from my conversations across Gateshead is that a cohesive, collaborative, and common approach to improving digital inclusion both systemically and from the bottom-up is much needed, and that it would also be worthwhile to remove barriers and ensure accessibility from the very start of the design of something (be this a product or a service).

Digital poverty and inclusion are not matters requiring a digital solution per se: solutions depend on social, political and technical responses to inequality.

We can all come together in different but complementary ways to contribute to the solution: for example, we can spread awareness of digital poverty and encourage action, and we can offer our time and expertise to volunteer in projects that foster digital inclusion.

Digital inclusion is a process, and not a one-time event. If you'd like to learn more and find out how we can make an impact together, simply send us an email to join our Digital Inclusion Network.