Digital Equity and St. Paul, MN
There are a plethora of ethical concerns regarding digital equity and inclusion. One of the big questions regarding digital equity is who gets access and why. Then, how can we close these gaps? Working at a homeless shelter for the city of St. Paul, I have noticed that there is a large lack of digital literacy. It is very common for the workers to help residents try to use and connect with technology. Just this past week, one of my residents missed a court date, simply because he did not know how to download Zoom onto their phone. In another case, there have been a few instances where I have been asked to change certain accessibility settings, such as text size. I have so many stories where there has been a disconnect with digital literacy, especially with the population that I work with. Even then, as workers we have no set standard of digital literacy and all the workers are at different levels, so it can be difficult helping everyone.
There are a few key strategies in combating digital exclusion. Digital inclusion is based on five principles: affordable and quality internet service, a device that connects to the internet, access to digital literacy training, technical support, applications and content that provides an outlet for self-sufficiency, participation and collaboration. After looking at how the city of Minneapolis is trying to increase digital inclusion, I wanted to see how Ramsey County was trying to combat exclusion. There are a few resources. Lists of public computers, low-cost personal computers, and even digital literacy lessons by AmeriCorp are available in St. Paul. The Internet service is also available for a lower price. However, while these are good resources — these do not get at the heart of digital inclusion. At the beginning of pandemic, my mother was one of the low-income households that was affected digitally. My two school-age brothers did not have internet service, yet needed to for school. Even with a discounted rate, it was a tough expense on my mother. Along with this, my brothers were only given one laptop to share between the both of them — that they still share this year. Naturally, one of them does their homework and the other does not, citing not being able to go on the computer when he needs to. While many strategies are addressing issues of digital equity, I do not think that total and true digital equity will ever be achieved.
