How to Get the Community Involved In Digital Equity
By Alex Hochhalter
Before taking on this project of building a digital equity website, I had never heard of the term “digital equity” before. This got me thinking, “How many other people have no awareness of this term? Probably a lot.” More people have probably heard of the term “digital divide”, simply meaning the disconnect between those who have access to the internet and technology, and those who do not. That is why I decided to explore this topic and do some of my own research. After speaking with Sabrina Roach (Founder of Make Digital Equity) and Nancy Chang (Director of Digital Navigation Services at Goodwill), I was able to come to 3 impactful ways to engage our communities and spread awareness of digital equity. The 3 impactful ways I am focusing on are pushing our youth to lead conversations, volunteering for things like digital navigation hotlines, and choosing careers that involve digital navigation. These are all ways to get involved with and advocate for digital equity.
Firstly, we can encourage the youth to lead conversations in school settings. In a world where the youngest children are growing up to become natural digital navigators, it is important that we push them to lead conversations about digital equity in classes and events as they grow into young adults. As digital natives, young people can help others with digital literacy and boost advocating for digital equity in schools. Younger generations have the largest influence on the upcoming world and if we want change, we need to be influencing the generations to come.
Secondly, volunteer work with resources such as digital navigation hotlines where non tech-savvy people can contact and get help with their technology needs can be highly impactful. This type of work can be essential in getting older generations to adapt to the change that technology is bringing us. Digital navigation tutoring is also a great way to volunteer and assist people who need help adapting to a new phone or computer, for example. These positive interactions can trigger an interest in people to learn more about digital equity because they are receiving help and experiencing the benefits firsthand.
Lastly, improving digital equity as part of your career can include tiny but valuable changes. Choosing a career that involves digital navigation can mean a variety of things. It includes digital navigation tutors, user experience (UX) designers, librarians, and so much more. A UX designer is naturally working on promoting digital equity by advocating for and ensuring that their media is accessible to all people. All people that are in these careers are learning and working towards a project where digital equity is present and is being improved.
