The Dangers Of Digital Exclusion

The dangers of digital exclusion

Hi! UX consultant User researcher Speaker Event organiser

“The danger is that you think you are getting a representative view of the world and you are really, really not, and you don’t know it.” – Eli Pariser, Author of The Filter Bubble

“Every decision we make can raise or lower barriers to participation in society. It’s our collective responsibility to lower these barriers though inclusive products, services, environments, and experiences.” – Microsoft Inclusive Design manual

One in 8.2% of UK adults has never used the internet. Office for National Statistics

4.3 million people with zero Basic Digital Skills Lloyds Bank UK Consumer Digital Index 2018

76% 20% Retired and over the age of 65 Lloyds Bank UK Consumer Digital Index 2018 Aged 45-64 4% Under the age of 45

11.3m adults in the UK do not have all five basic digital skills

Basic Digital Skills measure 1. Managing information 2. Communicating 3. Transacting 4. Problem solving 5. Creating Lloyds Bank UK Consumer Digital Index 2018

Digital privilege

Job role Location Mental health Access to tech Digital privilege Connectivity Attitude Income Confidence Gender Age Disability

Accessibility & inclusivity • The ability to use the internet and online services • The ability to connect to the internet and go online

20% / 3.4m of disabled adults had never used the internet in 2018 Office for National Statistics

Disability as context dependent “Disability is not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.” –World Health Organization Microsoft Inclusive Design manual

The Persona Spectrum Permanent Temporary Situational Permanent Temporary Situational Deaf Ear infection Bartender Non-verbal Laryngitis Heavy accent Hear Touch One arm Arm injury New parent Speak See Blind Microsoft Inclusive Design manual Cataract Distracted driver

“A universal web is designed for all, inclusive of geography, language, and culture. It’s a place that is available for people of all abilities, aptitudes, and attitudes. In short, design has the power to not only remove barriers but also not to create them in the first place.” – A Web for Everyone, Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbury

The Persona Network Just as no person exists in isolation, neither Family Microsoft Inclusive Design manual Friends Strangers

Any user may need assisted digital support, if they lack Symbol Printed 9 • trust in your service or the internet GOV.UK identity guidelines December 2013 ALPHA • confidence to use an online service themselves • access to the internet • digital skills • motivation to overcome these barriers on their own GDS Service Manual

One in 10 UK households doesn’t have internet access. Office for National Statistics

2.7 million households Office for National Statistics

How can we be more inclusive?

“We frequently only create idealised personas: attractive people happily interacting with our products and completing tasks.“ – Design for Real life, Eric Meyer & Sara Wachter-Boettcher

User

User

Customer

Visitor

Shopper

This is not a 'user' this is an MOT tester

“Only two industries refer to their customers as ‘users’: computer design and drug dealing.” – Edward Tufte, Statistician and professor at Yale University.

“How do we ensure we use technology ethically, in support of what’s “good,” and minimise harmful outcomes?” – Peter Barr, Managing Partner, Deloitte

How not to regret the things you will build. – Ethical OS Toolkit

Ethical OS Toolkit

Ethical OS Toolkit

“We have to think about the long-term futures that our technologies are helping to create. If we fail to do this, we fail everyone who uses these technologies. And in the worst-case scenarios, we fail democracy and equality at scales never possible before.” – Sam Woolley, Director, Digital Intelligence Lab, Institute for the Future

Thank you :) Questions?

TOOLKITS • Microsoft Inclusive Design manual: https://download.microsoft.com/.../INCLUSIVE_TOOLKIT_MANUAL_FINAL.pdf • Ethical OS: https://ethicalos.org/ BOOKS • A Web for Everyone, Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbury • Design for Real life, Eric Meyer & Sara Wachter-Boettcher VIDEO • Beware online “filter bubbles”, TED Talk by Eli Parisor: https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles?language=en REPORTS • Office for National Statistics: Internet users, UK: 2018: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/bulletins/internetusers/2018 • Lloyds UK Consumer Digital Index 2018: https://www.lloydsbank.com/banking-with-us/whats-happening/consumer-digital-index.asp @littlehelli