When digital inequalities meet digital disconnection: Studying the material conditions of disconnection in rural Turkey

Bozan, Veysel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2121-0897 and Trere, Emiliano ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2496-4571 2023. When digital inequalities meet digital disconnection: Studying the material conditions of disconnection in rural Turkey. Convergence 10.1177/13548565231174596

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Abstract

Digital inequalities research has lacked a focus on voluntary non-use and its consequences, whereas digital disconnection studies have focused on non-use but neglected the material implications of digital inequalities. Located at the intersection between these two approaches, this article relies on twelve semi-structured interviews, observations and informal dialogues to examine digital media uses, inequalities and the meanings of disconnection in a village of rural Turkey. The findings show that the main inequalities are due to infrastructure, geography and socio-economic conditions. These inequalities shape the practices and meanings of digital disconnection, revealing obstacles, frustrations and a forced kind of disconnection that is very different from the romantic portrayal of detox retreats that dominate the literature in the Global North. The insights of this research illuminate the unexplored area of intersection between digital inequalities and disconnection, engaging a fruitful conversation that enriches both fields of inquiry and unfolds future research opportunities.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Journalism, Media and Culture
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	1354-8565
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	26 April 2023
Date of Acceptance:	4 April 2023
Last Modified:	28 Nov 2023 12:27
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/159057

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