The Digital Disconnect

Ellen Helsper is Professor of Socio-Digital Inequalities in the Media and Communications Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her research interests include the links between social and digital inequalities; vulnerability and discrimination in digital spaces; digital literacy; mediated communication and interpersonal relationships; and methodological innovation in quantitative and qualitative media and communications research. Her work is truly global in nature through her involvement in the From Digital Skills to Tangible Outcomes; Connected Communities and Inclusive Growth; YSkills; Global Kids Online and World Internet research projects. She consults widely for governments, the third and commercial sector on issues to do with client and citizen (dis)engagement in increasingly digital societies. Organisations that she has worked with include the BBC, European Commission, ITU, OECD, and UNESCO. Ellen holds and has held Visiting Scholar positions at prestigious universities and research institutes in Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the US. She has a PhD in Media and Communications from the LSE and an MSc degree in Media Psychology from Utrecht University and worked in commercial market and audience research in Europe, Latin America and the US.

Introduction Part I: The Past: Social and Digital Inequalities Theories Chapter 1 Social World: From Poverty to Inequality Chapter 2 Digital World: From Divides to Socio-Digital Inequalities Part II: The Present: Lessons Learned about Causes and Consequences of Socio-Digital Inequalities Chapter 3 Economic inequalities in digital societies Chapter 4 Skills and Learning Inequalities in Digital Societies Chapter 5 Inequalities in power and participation in digital societies Part III: The Future: New Frontiers of Socio-Digital Inequalities Chapter 6 Inequalities in Loneliness and Connection in Digital Societies Chapter 7 Inequalities in Content Creation and Consumption in Digital Societies Conclusions: Rethinking Socio-Digital Inequalities

An indispensable book for anyone interested in the causes and consequences of socio-digital inequalities. Helsper's book brings a unique and authoritative approach; it revisits recent research in the field and uses real-world examples that help to connect abstract questions with practical problems. Academics across multiple disciplines in the social sciences should definitively consider this book as an essential guide to study socio-digital inequalities in contemporary societies. -- New Media and Society * New Media and Society * I would recommend this book to everyone interested in a good overview of the emerging literature, key issues and possible solutions to socio-digital inequalities. -- Anna Rohmann