Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and digital inclusion: what is the evidence and where is it?

ABSTRACT

Quantitative research on digital inclusion has grappled with significant gaps in data with respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We compare the survey methods and questions of the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) data, the National Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) and the Census of Population and Housing to identify these gaps. While the ADII is the most comprehensive examination of digital inclusion, encompassing access, affordability, and digital ability measures, the general ADII dataset excludes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote areas. In addition, we draw together findings from qualitative research on digital inclusion within particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, to demonstrate why digital choices—including the preference for mobile devices—are important for understanding statistical trends.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital inclusion
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• mobile-only internet use
• research methods
• internet infrastructures

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. See also Rennie et al., 2016, pp.150–152.

2. NATSIS data cited in this article is based on respondents 15 years and over.

3. Since renamed First Nations Media Australia.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Telstra.

Notes on contributors

Ellie Rennie

Ellie Rennie is an Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow with RMIT’s Digital Ethnography Research Centre and a member of RMIT’s Blockchain Innovation Hub. She investigates digital inclusion and automation, with a focus on public policy. Her recent books include Using Media for Social Innovation (Intellect, 2017), and Internet on the Outstation: The digital divide and remote Aboriginal communities (Institute of Network Cultures, 2016).

Julian Thomas

Julian Thomas is a Professor of Media and Communication at RMIT. He works on media, communications and information policy and the history of communications technologies. Julian’s recent publications include the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (2016–18), Internet on the Outstation (Institute of Network Cultures, 2016), and The Informal Media Economy (Polity, 2015).

Chris Wilson

Chris Wilson is a Research Fellow with the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University of Technology. He is the principal analyst for the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) project, a collaborative venture between Swinburne University, RMIT University, Telstra and Roy Morgan Research.