Use-by-proxy refers to online activities where a person asks an internet user to go online on their behalf. Use-by-proxy is also used by some internet users who often don’t have the necessary devices to access the internet despite having adequate internet skills. According to the theory of resources and appropriation in digital divide research, personal and positional categorical inequalities define access to internet technologies, including ubiquitous access, which refers to the accessibility of internet technologies from different locations and on diverse devices. This thesis explores how demographic factors and ubiquitous access are related to the breadth of use-by-proxy between internet users in Slovenia and Great Britain. In an empirical study, we analyzed data from the Slovenian Public Opinion (2018) and Internet Access and Use (2019) surveys using negative binomial regression. The results showed that the breadth of use-by-proxy activities among internet users is positively associated with ubiquitous access in both countries. Differences between the two countries are indicated by categorical inequalities among internet users, since some demographic variables are statistically significantly related to the breadth of use-by-proxy activities in one country but not the other.
|
