REACT project manager put digital exclusion on the agenda at the Nordic Sociology Conference

Barbara Fersch organized and moderated the session titled "Care and Technologies in a Digitalized Society," which was one of the most popular sessions at the conference based on the number of submitted abstracts.

Digitalization Changes the Relationship Between Caregivers and Recipients

The session explored how digital health technologies redefine care and impact our understanding of what constitutes 'good care.' The group delved into how digitalization changes the relationship between caregivers and recipients and how new ways of thinking about care are becoming possible.

Among the many contributions were the following:

"With Friends Like These: Clashing Vulnerabilities in Facilitating Meaningful Activities Through Digital Means for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities" – An analysis of activities for adults with intellectual disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Deception as Digital Emotional Labor: The Use of Welfare Technology in Dementia Care" – An exploration of robots in dementia care and the ethical dilemmas surrounding the interaction between users and technology.

"Using Data Donation from Smart Home Technologies to Understand the Socio-digital Futures of Caring Relationships" – A study on how smart home technology can shed light on caring relationships and the associated ethical and methodological challenges.

'Digital Capital' as a New Concept
Fersch also presented a paper on REACT’s early insights from the needs analysis titled "Facilitating Rural eHealth – What’s the Problem?" Based on the dynamics and contexts of rural digital exclusion, the discussion centered on how digital exclusion can be conceptualized and analyzed.

Fersch introduced her ideas on incorporating the relatively new concept of 'digital capital' into the analysis and understanding of exclusion dynamics. This is particularly relevant in a digitalized society like ours, where access to hardware or the internet is often no longer the primary issue, but rather the skills and practices for meaningful use of these digital technologies are crucial for addressing digital inclusion.

The discussion around the conceptual approach to digital exclusion and inclusion contributed many valuable insights, which are being integrated into the ongoing work of developing REACT's conceptual framework.

Thus, the conference provided both a valuable opportunity for the REACT project to contribute academic and research-based insights, particularly regarding digital exclusion, which remains underexplored, and served as a source of inspiration for the project's continued development.