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Gordon Brown’s pledge to end the digital divide for children in the UK has struck a cord with The Carphone Warehouse. The company has been carrying out a major piece of research that shows people fear the growing divide between those with and without internet access. Not that they want to pay to fill that gap, mind.
A spokeswoman for Carphone Warehouse said the study revealed a concern amongst people across the UK that children without internet access at home are suffering from education disadvantages.
However, the findings also showed taxpayers were uneasy at the thought of having to fund the solution to this; with only 40 per cent of those questioned believing this is something the Government should support.
“Eighty per cent of young people feel that ‘children who don’t have internet access at home are at a disadvantage when it comes to their education’ and most believe schools these days expect children to have access to the internet at home,” said the Children And The Internet section of the Mobile Life report.
“When it comes to making friends, one in three adults say the internet is important in helping them to make new friends and many [40 per cent] go so far as to say that children who don’t have internet at home are socially disadvantaged.”
The report also found that despite parents’ concerns about online safety, 55 per cent say the internet has vastly improved their life, and that having the internet at home is as essential as having a fridge or cooker.
However, only 40 per cent of UK adults agree that ‘The Government should spend taxpayers’ money to make sure that children whose parents can’t afford internet access get it’.
The findings come from the Mobile Life study, an annual research project carried out by Ipsos-Mori for The Carphone Warehouse looking at technology habits and attitudes.
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