Open AccessIQ and digital inequality: An empirical investigation
Author(s) -
Alexander Johannes Aloysius Maria van Deursen,
Jan AGM van Dijk
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
new media and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.501
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1461-7315
pISSN - 1461-4448
DOI - 10.1177/14614448211024012
Subject(s) - appropriation , cognition , normative , inequality , intelligence quotient , context (archaeology) , the internet , psychology , digital divide , social inequality , process (computing) , social psychology , computer science , political science , world wide web , epistemology , mathematics , mathematical analysis , paleontology , philosophy , neuroscience , law , biology , operating system
Cognitive intelligence is rarely discussed in the context of digital inequality for practical and normative reasons: substantial difficulties around measurements and the fact that it cannot (easily) be changed. In the current contribution, cognitive intelligence is studied in relation to resources and appropriation theory which explains digital inequality as a process of four successive phases of Internet access: motivational, material, skills, and usage. For the measurement of cognitive intelligence, we build on considerable efforts devoted to developing alternatives to cumbersome intelligence quotient (IQ) tests of intelligence. We conducted a two-wave online survey in the Netherlands, resulting in a sample of 1733 respondents. The importance of IQ was confirmed with direct positive effects on education, economic, social, and cultural resources, and on Internet attitude and skills. The results reveal several details that can enhance our understanding of the specific mechanisms through which IQ and education operate in digital inequalities.
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