Data, dignity and digital inclusion
What does “digital inclusion” really mean? In this article, a digital support worker in Glasgow shares what it’s like helping people get online — from turning on devices to tackling the digital divide. Why digital exclusion is a growing crisis, and what we can do about it.
By Peter McKenna, digital inclusion lead at Mhor Collective | Iain McLellan
“I support people to use their phones… or laptops… or iPads” – that’s the line I usually offer up to people when they ask me what I do. Having worked in this type of role for over a year now, I’ve found that opening with “I work in Digital Inclusion”, doesn’t tend to answer the initial question very clearly – because in my experience “digital inclusion” doesn't mean much to most people when casually dropped into a conversation.
But equally, my line about phones and laptops, iPads never feels like a satisfying answer either. This is because neither answer explains what I really do or what digital inclusion actually is. Maybe what’s most significant though, is that neither of these answers properly describe what digital exclusion is; how it impacts people and communities, the barriers that exist for people wanting to get online or use a device safely and the crisis that digital inequality poses to our lives and to the lives of those we live alongside.
So, in some ways, I am writing this article for the selfish reason of trying to formulate a punchier one-liner that explains digital inclusion in a nutshell (spoiler alert: I don’t). And hopefully, in the process of me working this out, I can provide an idea of how digital exclusion exists within our community – what you can do if you experience it and how you can support others who experience it.
So, what is it? Very often it is the act of showing someone how to turn on their phone, how to scroll up and down a webpage on their laptop, how to zoom into a photo with their finger and thumb on an iPad. But it’s also the act of sitting alongside someone (maybe physically, maybe on Zoom) while they do this and understanding who they are and what their life looks like. And then, with that understanding – often built up over weeks and months – introducing an understanding of how a truly connected digital life could enrich their day-to-day, empower them and unlock opportunities.
And in the same way that the internet is an endless sprawling landscape of ‘stuff’ (for lack of a better word), the possibilities that a digitally included life offers people are genuinely endless and look like something totally different for every person in our society. In my experience of supporting digital learners, that’s been everything from supporting someone to make a Universal Credit application online, to binge watching every single dance archived on the Strictly Come Dancing Youtube channel, making their first online ASDA order, facetiming a grandchild or registering a UK asylum claim. I could go on, but you get what I mean, sometimes it’s empowering someone to tackle that essential, urgent, often very scary stuff and sometimes it’s showing them something that will make their day a bit nicer or more convenient.
Finding out the barriers preventing someone from owning a device – which could be anything from not being able to pay for data – is just as important when it comes to getting people online. Often, it’s structural inequality and societal barriers such as poverty, disability, race, class, age, residency status, that prevent people from accessing or using technology with the safety and confidence that many of us might take for granted.
As we plunge deeper into a digital society, the gap widens. Covid lockdowns forced us online at a rapid pace. The Scottish Government invested £200 million in 2021 to get 300,000 households connected by 2026. Fast forward to 2025 and the Scottish Government’s promise is already broken with the current digital inclusion budget slashed to just £2 million. Short-term digital inclusion projects and job roles with limited funding pop up and disappear just as quickly. Under these conditions, supporting people who want to become truly digitally included are often stopped in their tracks.
These cuts come as services move increasingly and exclusively online, worsened by AI support services tasked with getting people online instead of supporting people to access them in an accessible way – looking at you, Department of Work and Pensions, Home Office UK and NHS.
There is no overnight fix to the big structural problems we face but introducing digital tools and skills into people's lives, at their own pace, can make a genuinely transformative impact. Digital inclusion is a human rights issue, so by talking about it with others, sharing skills and knowledge, you are supporting people to live a more connected life.
Tips and additional resources for digital inclusion:
O2 stores may offer free SIMs – just ask in-store, no ID or personal info required.
Govanhill Baths Community Trust has launched Computer Confidence workshops.
Glasgow Life offers:
DigiPALS: free one-to-one digital support drop-ins – ask at your local library.
Computer Skills Classes: call 0800 158 3974 to find and book a session near you.
Donate old devices – phones/laptops can be refurbished and reused.
Free SIMs – ask at any O2 store, no ID needed.
Community groups can apply to become SIM distributors.
Cheaper internet – ask providers about Social Tariffs if on benefits.
Glasgow Life offers:
DigiPALS – drop-in 1:1 tech help at libraries.
Free computer classes – call 0800 158 3974 to book.
Library PCs & WiFi – free with a library card.
Use paper options – helps include those not online.
Housing associations often offer digital support.
Be patient – everyone learns at their own pace.