Digital inclusion from an empowerment perspective:An empirical study of urban female elderly
As digital technologies become a new paradigm of urban governance,creating a digitally inclusive space and promoting the empowerment of technologically disadvantaged groups has become a vital issue.Based on the empowerment perspective,this study employed a qualitative research method—semi-structured interviews,and took urban female elderly as the research target,to examine the status quo of digital inclusiveness of space and the empowering effect of digital capital.The study found that the spatial perception towards the city has transformed,with online and offline spaces becoming an intertwined continuum,and the uncertainty and risks associated with online spaces permeating into offline spaces.The push-pull model of digital migration developed in this study theorizes that the inclusive or exclusive nature of digital space guides individuals in making spatial decisions of either"connecting"or"disconnecting".Increased digital capital can contribute to the empowerment of the technologically disadvantaged at five levels,including welfare,access,conscientization,participation,and control.The study found that the increase in urban female elderly's digital capital is concentrated at the welfare and access levels,and remains superficial at the deeper levels of conscientization,participation,and control.The article then proposed a logical and operational framework for making spaces digitally inclusive.The article suggested that the freedom of digital migration should be increased by reducing the barriers between online and offline spaces thereby creating an"inclusive continuum",and by acting on multiple dimensions of informal and formal environments and individual and institutional levels,to take advantage the empowering effects of technologies.This study enriches the empirical scholarship of digital geography and offers insights for improving digital inclusion within urban planning and governance in China.
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