Beaunoyer Elisabeth, Dupéré Sophie, Guitton Matthieu J
Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
Faculty of Nursing, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
Comput Human Behav. 2020 Oct;111:106424. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2020.106424. Epub 2020 May 11.
With more than three billion people in isolation, the status of digital spaces is switching from an amenity to a necessity, as they become not only the main way to access information and services, but also one of the only remaining vectors for economic, educational, and leisure activities as well as for social interactions to take place. However, not all are equals in terms of access to networks or connected devices, or when it comes to the skills required to navigate computerized spaces optimally. Digital inequalities were already existing, yet the COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating them dramatically. On the one hand, the crisis will worsen digital inequalities within the population. On the other hand, digital inequalities represent a major risk factor of vulnerability for exposure to the virus itself, and for the non-sanitary consequences of the crisis. Therefore, this paper aims at exploring the reciprocal impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and digital inequalities, and to propose operative solutions to help fight the nefarious consequences of the crisis. We first describe how digital inequalities are a determinant of health. We then investigate how COVID-19 can potentiate digital inequalities, and how digital inequalities potentiate vulnerability to COVID-19. Finally, in order to contribute to the mitigation of this crisis, we propose a set of multi-layered strategies focusing on actionability that can be implemented at multiple structural levels, ranging from governmental to corporate and community levels.
超过30亿人处于隔离状态，数字空间的地位正从一种便利设施转变为一种必需品，因为它们不仅成为获取信息和服务的主要方式，而且也是经济、教育、休闲活动以及社会互动得以进行的仅存途径之一。然而，在网络接入或联网设备方面，以及在优化浏览数字化空间所需技能方面，并非所有人都处于平等地位。数字不平等现象早已存在，但新冠疫情危机正在使其急剧恶化。一方面，这场危机将加剧民众内部的数字不平等。另一方面，数字不平等是面临感染病毒本身以及危机带来的非卫生方面后果的脆弱性的一个主要风险因素。因此，本文旨在探讨新冠疫情危机与数字不平等之间的相互影响，并提出切实可行的解决方案，以帮助应对危机的有害后果。我们首先描述数字不平等如何成为健康的一个决定因素。然后，我们研究新冠疫情如何加剧数字不平等，以及数字不平等如何加剧对新冠疫情的脆弱性。最后，为了有助于缓解这场危机，我们提出一套侧重于可操作性的多层次策略，这些策略可在从政府到企业和社区层面的多个结构层面实施。
