No Tech Day: Awareness and Solutions for the Digital Divide
What’s No Tech Day all about?
Just as the 40-hour famine drew attention to the plight of hungry children by encouraging people to see for themselves what it’s like to go without food, No Tech Day aims to raise awareness of the impacts of the digital divide on tamariki in Aotearoa. It does so by asking people to go without tech for just two hours and feel what it’s like to be cut off from the digital world.
Eschewing phones and devices for two hours might be easy at, say, 3 pm on a Saturday or 2 am on any given morning. Doing so in the middle of a working day can demonstrate how difficult it is to learn, earn, and live in the modern world without the right tech resources.
Digital inequity is a real issue, and one that can often fly under the radar. Let’s bring it to light!
Why is digital access so important?
Considering digital access as much of a necessity as running water (or close to it) is difficult for many people. We’re too attached to our phones, we might say, and the internet isn’t necessary for survival. That used to be very much true, but times have changed—and as the digital world brings new opportunities, so does it bring new communal obligations. If we are to have equal opportunity, truly, then we must have equal access.
No Tech Day makes it clear how much of modern life has become intertwined with technology. Try banking without a device and access to the internet; it requires infinitely more energy and time. With clinics managing patients, prescriptions, and appointments via handy apps, seeing the doctor becomes gatekept by tech. Families and social groups use the internet to connect and build community. Tamariki in households that struggle to access these services will suffer financially, physically, and emotionally.
Digital technology is woven into the curriculum; BYOD policies ensure that schooling is difficult without a tablet or Chromebook. For children, especially, who will live their adult lives in a world where tech will only become more necessary and tied into a lot of career opportunities, a lack of digital inclusion is sorely felt.
What are the realities of the digital divide?
The numbers don’t lie. There is a large number of people in Aotearoa without meaningful digital access, and it affects a variety of demographics.
Some food for thought:
Roughly 1 in 5 (around 40,000) NZ households are not sufficiently connected: this might mean no broadband connectivity, no suitable devices, or a financial inability to stay connected.
Rural households pay 29% more than urban ones for broadband.
Māori and Pasifika students report significantly lower rates of access to the internet both at home and at school than other ethnic groups.
Around 93% of those living in major cities report access to the internet, while the rate lowers to around 88% for those in country towns.
The digital inclusion and wellbeing report from digital.govt.nz reports these and other statistics which demonstrate the real impact of the divide. Each gap of a few percentage points represents hundreds and thousands of tamariki who are being left behind. In our work, we have witnessed it firsthand.
It goes beyond having access to the internet and devices. Tech skills, confidence, safety, and underrepresentation in the sector are also major factors. A report by To Mai found that “those that end up working in the tech sector are predominantly Pākehā or Asian, middle-class, and male.” A dearth of role models and examples for young girls or tamariki from other ethnic and socio-economic groups can contribute to perpetuating these inequities.
How can I get involved in No Tech day?
Want to contribute to raising awareness to the digital divide in Aotearoa? Head over to notechday.nz and sign up for a No Tech Day pack. These contain resources and fact sheets that you can use to spark conversations in-person or on social media as the day approaches.
On Friday the 22nd of August, get involved in the 2-Hour Challenge and go without tech for the full 120 minutes. Have a think about what it would be like to be offline for longer than that, and how it might affect your everyday life—then share those thoughts!
You can also directly donate to the cause here to support solutions for those being left behind by the digital divide. This money goes directly to initiatives doing the mahi to close the gap, including our own Recycle A Device. As it says on the site, $146 puts a refurbished laptop in the hands of a Year 9 student who can’t bring their own device to school!
