Digital margins:Social and digital exclusion of Gypsy-Travelers in the Netherlands

Research on digital inclusion increasingly focuses on vulnerable groups, with the prevailing idea that social exclusion leads to digital exclusion. The role of the socio-spatial context is often faded into the background due to user-centric (individual) approaches. This article explores how a vulnerable group, Gypsy-Travelers in the Netherlands, deals with digital developments within their socio-spatial context. Contrary to prevailing theories, the analysis shows that Gypsy-Travelers are digitally engaged, despite their social exclusion. An advantage of the Gypsy-Traveler culture is that exten... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Salemink, Koen
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2016
Reihe/Periodikum: Salemink , K 2016 , ' Digital margins : Social and digital exclusion of Gypsy-Travelers in the Netherlands ' , Environment and Planning A , vol. 48 , no. 6 , pp. 1170-1187 . https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X16636639
Schlagwörter: Gypsy-Travelers / social exclusion / digital exclusion / digital engagement / inequalities
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27602635
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://hdl.handle.net/11370/fb39fe55-1ec2-4074-b61b-dedfd1116064

Research on digital inclusion increasingly focuses on vulnerable groups, with the prevailing idea that social exclusion leads to digital exclusion. The role of the socio-spatial context is often faded into the background due to user-centric (individual) approaches. This article explores how a vulnerable group, Gypsy-Travelers in the Netherlands, deals with digital developments within their socio-spatial context. Contrary to prevailing theories, the analysis shows that Gypsy-Travelers are digitally engaged, despite their social exclusion. An advantage of the Gypsy-Traveler culture is that extended families on the sites provide a large potential of proxy users for support. Many of the Gypsy-Travelers are digitally engaged, but they engage and participate on their own terms. Furthermore, the digital engagement of Gypsy-Travelers is not a panacea for their social exclusion. In fact, their problematic relation with the settled society is mirrored in online activities. This research shows that digitalization has added a new layer to the interaction between Gypsy-Travelers and settled society. It also demonstrates that more socially and spatially contextualized research approaches can add insights to the debate on social and digital exclusion.