Beyond the 'digital divide': Internet diffusion and inequality in Australia

The increasing potential of the Internet to widen access to information and enhance communication capacity has brought opposing arguments about the social consequences of Internet use. Advocates of the “digital divide” argue that the Internet advantages privileged groups while further marginalising disadvantaged social categories. Critics of the “digital divide” thesis see the expansion of the Internet as enabling and egalitarian, promoting social inclusion and facilitating democratic participation. In order to assess which view is more plausible, we examine the social barriers to Internet use in Australia over a five year period, using multivariate analyses of national survey data. Although the Internet has become more accessible to all social categories, and further technological diffusion should widen this accessibility, household income, age, education and occupational class location remain as key dimensions of differential Internet use