In a world where most people on the street seem glued to the internet via some form of digital technology, it can be difficult to imagine that there are millions of others who are increasingly disillusioned with going online.
According to research by the BBC, some 10.5 million people in the UK lack basic digital skills. These include basic online tasks such as finding information, communicating, buying and selling, and problem solving. Experts say this is partly as a result of the language and terminology surrounding the use of the internet. Indeed, research by EE in September 2014 found 58% of over-65s cite confusing jargon as the single biggest reason they weren’t online.
And this issue isn’t just affecting those in an older age bracket. According to the Office for National Statistics, of the 6.4 million people in the UK who have never used the internet, more than 1.6 million of them are under 65. And aside from the millions who have never been online, explains John Perkins, BT’s Connected Society programme manager, there is also “a wider cohort who have been online, perhaps only once, but they still don’t have digital skills”.
Busting the jargon
It is an issue that a number of organisations are beginning to tackle. BT’s promise to use the power of communications to make a better world includes a specific focus on digital inclusion and promoting the use of accessible language as part of its wider work to improve society through digital connectivity.
Perkins believes it’s too easy to become “bamboozled” by complicated language. “From our point of view,” he says, “it’s about demystifying that language and actually explaining to people what those terms mean.”
Perkins says that using terms with definitions that might not be understood by the digitally uninitiated, such as “phishing” and “bytes”, can jeopardise people’s confidence. “We should simplify that language to avoid putting people off,” he adds. “At BT we’re acutely aware of how important it is that that everyone supports friends, family and colleagues who are digitally excluded. While the language may sound a bit scary, once you break the things down it can be much more simplistic.”
That being said, the task at hand is far more difficult than, say, dealing with vernaculars associated with previous technological innovations such as the phone or television. Leela Damodaran, professor of digital inclusion and participation at Loughborough University, says this is because the internet’s pace of acceleration has been far quicker than earlier technology. The phone, for example, reached a stable state for “an appreciable period of time,” she says. However, the internet requires learning “on an endlessly ongoing basis”, and many are struggling to keep up.
It’s a cookie, but not as we know it
The fact that common terms are being given completely different meanings is also proving unhelpful in breaking down the language barrier, according to Damodaran. “Windows were not introduced to the human race by Microsoft,” she quips.
She says that new uses of words can confuse, irritate, and even distress, beginner users of the internet. A “cookie”, for example, of the traditionally, edible variety is commonly associated with positivity and comfort. In the internet world, though, “this term has been given a new, baffling meaning with potentially threatening implications”, without sufficient explanation of their function.
One participant in the research led by Damodaran for the Sus-IT project recalled how terrified she became when her computer flashed that she had “completed an illegal operation”. As a very new IT user, convinced that the police were on their way, she drew the curtains and hid. Damodaran reports, “One of the significant findings from the Sus-IT research was the call for reassurance, and fast, local support. Much of the confusion caused by unfamiliar terms is resolved when there is readily available support to deal with queries and confusion as they arise. People do have these fears, but we can deal with them.”
Building confidence
At Go ON UK, a digital skills charity, the team is trying to rebuild the confidence of the digitally confused. Chief executive Rachel Neaman believes that “language can both prevent and encourage people using the internet”. It’s the nuances of the language used, she says, that are incredibly important and ultimately decide whether someone will go online or not.
To address the issue, Go ON UK conducted research into what it was about digital vernacular that people found difficult. Assessing the results, Neaman explains: “There is a certain fear factor for some people from using the internet, so it is opening and welcoming language that really makes the difference.”
The research found that far too many phrases associated with using the internet carried negative connotations that made people feel left out. For example, the charity recommends not saying “get switched on”, but rather “get connected”; to avoid “join the debate” and instead say “be part of something”.
The differences are subtle, but they put more power into the hands of the individual, removing implications of being left behind or not in the loop. Neaman adds: “People are ashamed to be excluded. There is a need to tap into emotive language that will help these people.”
Perkins believes the conversation about digital jargon needs to be reframed in “benefit-led terms”. If people understand what they can achieve by being online, it will help remove the language barrier. Telling someone the World Wide Web is full of products and services that will benefit their lives will be most effective in breaking down the barrier. BT’s estimates place the benefits of being connected at more than £1,000 a year to someone using the internet for the first time. That, Perkins asserts, is “language everybody can understand.”
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