GUELPH POLITICAST #397 - Fixing the Digital Divide

Ever wonder what your life would be like if you didn’t have easy access to a digital device. How would you get the news? How would you sign up for your COVID-19 booster? How would people reach you? For many of us, crossing the digital divide is easy, but for other people in our community it’s hard to cross that Rubicon, and now there’s a group in Guelph that is dedicated to helping people build a bridge.

In a report published by Statistics Canada last year, it was noted that the number of people in Canada who were classified as either non-users or basic users of the internet and digital technologies shrank by almost five per cent between 2018 and 2020; in other words nearly 1.4 million Canadians went from being digital have notes to haves. Still, there was a big gap on things like changing privacy settings, subscribing to a streaming service, or buying goods and booking appointments online.

And then COVID-19 showed just how wide the digital divide can be. How are you supposed to access the internet and, say, do your school work, when you’re stuck at home when you don’t have a computer? Or what's when you’re out and about and your phone suddenly runs out of power? These are key questions about our digital age, and they’re some of the questions that the Guelph Wellington Digital Equity Coalition was created to answer.

This week we’re joined by Jen Lisso, digital services librarian at the Guelph Public Library, and Shayla Spalding, a research assistant with the Regional and Rural Broadband Project at the University of Guelph. They will talk about the creation of the Coalition, and the different meanings when it comes to digital inequity. They will also discuss how the coalition promotes their services, the importance of the library, the creation of their first Digital Access Guide and what they’re working on next. 

So let's talk about crossing the digital divide on this week's Guelph Politicst!

You can learn more about the Guelph Wellington Digital Equity Coalition at their website. That’s also where you can find the Digital Access Guide for Guelph and Wellington County which can refer you to places where you can find public wifi, internet hotspots, charging outlets, and other services to bridge the digital divide.

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Photo courtesy of Filip_Krstic/Getty Imaes.