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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Abi DurrantORCiD, Dr Diego Trujillo Pisanty
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Information about UK citizens’ use of digital technologies is often expressed in statistics–x% lack Internet access; y% get online to engage in online banking, update social media sites, or participate in online auctions. There are many social implications to digital technology use, however–individuals may communicate online as a major way to stay in touch with friends and family, and as Internet access rises and government and public sector budgets shrink, online services become an increasingly attractive way for government and public sector service providers to communicate with citizens. This paper presents selected results of an exploratory study designed to investigate the digital personhood of UK citizens through interviews with participants at three life transitions: leaving secondary school, becoming a parent, and retiring from work. Digital personhood in this paper implies identity information online, and some interaction with others around that information. We then report on our presentation of a selection of these results to thirteen stakeholders who represented UK government departments, public sector organisations, and industry. We found that citizen and stakeholder concerns were quite different, especially at the new parent life transition, and that stakeholders tended to underestimate the willingness and ability of citizens to become involved online with the government and public sector, and overestimate citizens’ vulnerability online. Future research should investigate practical strategies for increasing communication between stakeholders and citizens, and also how to encourage stakeholders to work together to benefit their common clientele–the citizens.
Author(s): Orzech KM, Moncur W, Durrant A, Trujillo-Pisanty D
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Information Communication and Society
Year: 2018
Volume: 21
Issue: 1
Pages: 14-29
Print publication date: 01/01/2018
Online publication date: 17/11/2016
Acceptance date: 01/11/2016
Date deposited: 02/07/2018
ISSN (print): 1369-118X
ISSN (electronic): 1468-4462
Publisher: Routledge
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2016.1257043
DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2016.1257043
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