April 7, 2023

The global COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital adoption with lockdowns and work from home arrangements leading to a surge in online meetings, online education, and online shopping. However, digitalisation has by no means been a straightforward process, with gaps emerging in many societies, including even in digitally connected countries such as Singapore, which underwent a period of circuit breaker measures from 7 April to 1 June 2020.

At the height of the pandemic, Singapore saw many low-income students without the necessary devices, internet connections, or competencies to avail of online learning. Separately, elderly or migrant communities with limited English proficiency struggled to learn even basic mobile functions for communicating, banking, and other online transactions. Such challenges are sobering considering that Singapore has among the highest levels of digital coverage in the world.

In ‘Making universal digital access universal: lessons from COVID-19 in Singapore’ (Universal Access in the Information Society, 2022), Associate Professor Irene Y. H. Ng (NUS Social Work), Professor Lim Sun Sun (Singapore Management University), and Dr Natalie Pang (NUS Communications and New Media) write about how digital resources – which include devices, internet connection, and digital literacy – have become basic needs. Using Singapore as a case study, the authors recommend a policy framework for universal digital access, where digital resources are automatically and affordably provided as public utilities.

Even before COVID-19 emerged, digital access was indispensable for participating economically and socially, be it for work, education, recreation, or family life. It has thus become a need and no longer a want, as may have been true a decade or more ago. Digital access should be seen as equivalent to other necessities, such as those tracked by the United Nations’ human development index — clean water, electricity, and education.

Universalist policies are fiscally expensive because they provide even for those who can afford to purchase the service privately. However, stringent assessments of selective services incur higher administrative costs and often lead to needy individuals lacking access. Furthermore, the social costs of digital inequality are likely to outweigh the fiscal cost of universal provision.

Globally, one clear digital inequity spotlighted by the pandemic was that among students. As online learning was rolled out worldwide due to lockdowns and school closures, a slew of inequities in digital access were unleashed. While students from well-to-do families had ample resources to engage in online learning, reports emerged of low-income students sharing their parents’ mobile telephones or tapping on free Wi-Fi at fast-food restaurants to attend online classes and complete online assignments.

Different vulnerable communities require different forms of digital device support. Device assistance schemes must therefore be tailored accordingly for useful and sustainable results. For the digitally excluded, their internet access is at best intermittent and sporadic, with bandwidth, data, and time limitations being especially pronounced. Achieving universal digital access requires a holistic and deliberative collaboration between community organizations, corporations, and government units in charge of technology as well as social welfare.

Read the article here.