Affiliations: Graduate School of Public Policy & Infomation Technology, Seoul National University of Science & Technology, Seoul, Korea. Tel.: +82 2 970 6866; Fax: +82 10 2003 1951; E-mail: wjsung@seoultech.ac.kr, swj_2006@naver.com
Abstract: In this study, we evaluate the digital divide in a Korean
context, where most people own smartphones. Specifically, we seek to
understand how the proliferation of smartphones affects the digital divide
across particular demographic categories. The independent variables used for
this study were gender, age, income, education, and employment status. These
variables were used to predict digital skills or usage access, as moderated
by smartphone use. Results indicate that smartphone use reduces the digital
divide across participants of different ages, education levels, occupations,
and income levels. These results suggest that policies associated with
digital gaps should seek to increase the usage rate and accessibility of
smartphones.
Keywords: Digital divide, digital literacy, information gap, Korea media penal survey, smartphone
