The Digital Disconnect
The Social Causes and Consequences of Digital Inequalities
- Ellen Helsper - London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
From societal causes to everyday actions, The Digital Disconnect explores the close and complex relationship between digital and social inequalities, and the lived consequences of digitisation.
Ellen Helsper goes beyond questions of digital divides and who’s connected or not. She asks why and how social and digital inequalities are linked, and shows the tangible outcomes of socio-digital inequalities to everyday lives. The book:
- Introduces the key theories and concepts you need to know to understand both ‘traditional’ and digital inequalities research.
- Investigates a range of socio-digital inequalities, from digital access and skills, to work on civic participation, social engagement, and everyday content creation and consumption.
- Brings research to life with a selection of qualitative vignettes, drawing out the personal experiences that lay at the heart of global socio-digital inequalities.
The Digital Disconnect is an expert exploration of contemporary theory, research and practice in socio-digital inequalities. It is also an urgent and impassioned call to broaden your horizons, to expand your theoretical and methodological toolkits, and to work collectively to help achieve a fairer digital future for all.
An indispensable book for anyone interested in the causes and consequences of socio-digital inequalities. Helsper’s book brings a unique and authoritative approach; it revisits recent research in the field and uses real-world examples that help to connect abstract questions with practical problems. Academics across multiple disciplines in the social sciences should definitively consider this book as an essential guide to study socio-digital inequalities in contemporary societies.
I would recommend this book to everyone interested in a good overview of the emerging literature, key issues and possible solutions to socio-digital inequalities.
