OPINION: Let's look out for those left behind by digital revolution
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I have hit another mini-milestone in my association with our favourite weekly newspaper – this is my 50th column.
The world is very different now, of course, and the news is full of upset, unrest, and discrimination in many forms. I have been acutely aware of for a couple of years now of the disadvantages people suffer if they don’t have the wherewithal or confidence to master the internet.
In this new world of working from home, ordering online, and comparing different suppliers for the likes of insurances and utilities, if you can’t get online, you’re toast! And not just getting online, but doing so with a connection that is fast enough to enable you to work, stream and access websites without having to go an make a cup of tea while you wait for something to stop buffering.
It is those who are most disadvantaged economically – be it with lack of quality education, difficulty accessing steady employment and the rest – who are often without the hardware to enable them to get to those deals, job opportunities or websites of services who could offer help and advice.
How often are people looking for help given a website address rather than a person to speak to? I wonder how many of those are too embarrassed to admit that’s no use to them and just say 'thanks' and struggle on?
I saw a story on the news where a woman was unable to go to work because her five children’s schools are shut. She was thrust into home schooling without having had a good experience of education herself, and the only device in the home capable of connecting to the internet was her phone, which she had on one of the cheapest plans possible with very little data just so her employer could contact her when he needed her for her zero-hours cleaning contract.
She was on the news because some local folk got together to fundraise to supply devices to people in her position. The amazement on the kids faces when they were lined up in the garden to capture the moment when they took delivery of a tablet was brilliant.
"Let’s consciously think about those we know or live near to and at the very least speak to them from a safe distance if we see them and not just keep our heads down and our headphones in."
I worry about people who are falling through the cracks without access to the wonderful technology that we are all getting to grips with through the necessity of keeping out lives ticking over and staying in work.
What are we doing to help the many thousands of people who are growing in isolation induced mental ill-health and stress? How can we reach people who are not able to get online and access that basic human need for communication?
Factor into all of this that these disadvantaged people might also be caring for someone who is disabled, unwell or suffering from an addiction, and that the services that may have previously provided respite have probably disappeared like snow off a dyke, and what will the ‘new normal’ will look like for those whose voices are probably rarely heard.
Let’s consciously think about those we know or live near to and at the very least speak to them from a safe distance if we see them and not just keep our heads down and our headphones in.
Karen is Mum to an autistic teenager and campaigns for the rights of unpaid carers to be supported in their caring role and involved in the decisions that affect their lives and the lives of the people they care for. You can find her on twitter @Karen4Carers.
