• Swindon & Wiltshire Experts
• Wednesday September 11 2024
• Author Name: Simon Crisp

What is digital poverty, and how can business owners help combat it? – Green Machine

Simon Crisp of tech recycling firm Green Machine explains how businesses’s old computers can be repurposed to combat digital poverty.

Digital poverty is often used to refer to those who live without, or with very minimal, access to the internet and digital technologies capable of connecting to it.

Between 13-19 million people over the age of 16 in the UK are experiencing some form of digital poverty. Digital Poverty is strongly associated with age; research estimates that one in two older adults are in digital poverty, and one in five are in severe digital poverty.

Typically, parents of middle-class families are able to provide enough internet-accessible devices for their children, including laptops, tablets, computers, and mobile phones.

These devices are now a crucial part of a child’s education as understanding foundational digital skills in modern education may be key to supporting a strong future career.

The lack of access to IT equipment puts children from low-income households at an immediate disadvantage to their middle-class peers. Furthermore, children without access to the internet or mobile phones may be socially excluded by their peers.

Not only may children suffer with access to the internet and with digital poverty, but many adults across the UK suffer too.

For example, over a quarter of low-income adults only go online using a smartphone. This may have a huge impact on their lifestyle as it means they may not have the means to find appropriate and well-paying jobs, further their education, or even shop around online for the best deals.

This may mean those adults with less access to the internet spend longer on simple tasks. For example, it takes approximately 30 minutes longer to access government services. It also increases feelings of isolation and loneliness.

This creates an immediate and inescapable disadvantage known as the digital divide.

Bridging the digital divide

The digital divide is the gap created by unequal access to modern telecommunications technology among different demographic groups and regions. For example, one million people had to cancel their internet subscriptions in 2022.

The digital divide is not just a gap in access to technology; it’s a rift that deepens inequality, stifling opportunity and widening the socioeconomic divide in an increasingly connected world.

In fact, social mobility in the UK, which refers to the ability of individuals or households to move between different levels of society, is at its lowest rate in 50 years.

One way that businesses can help to bridge the digital divide is through the refurbishing and recycling of old IT equipment.

Data can be securely wiped from devices and new software installed before that hardware is donated to charities, which in turn redistribute tech to those in the greatest need.

Once re-homed, these devices are capable of assisting these individuals with education, entertainment, social interaction, government accessibility, and employability. They can make a huge difference to the quality of someone’s life – as well as helping the environment by keeping electronics out of landfill.

Since 2011, Green Machine has been on a mission to protect the environment and tackle digital poverty by helping businesses securely dispose of obsolete IT equipment by refurbishing and recycling it in an appropriate way. Fifty per cent of all refurbished laptops are donated to local charities. https://greenmachinecomputers.com/electronic-waste-recycling/