Abstract:

The beginning of the century XXI is characterized by the increasing of the accessibility of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). These technologies have become available for an important portion of the world population. However it is still possible to find inequalities in the use of these tools. The so-called digital divide is equally mediated by economic (e.g. labor market risk position) and social factors (e.g. gender, age, belonging an ethnic minority, education degree or social class) that determine the individual position in the current postindustrial societies. In this work, using data from the European Social Survey (2002-2008), it is studied the relationship between the skill level and the dual position in labor market (insider vs. outsider) and its impact on the immigrants’ Internet usage in Europe. Assuming that it is possible to find differences related to the position that immigrant population occupies in the labor market (insider/outsider) and its level of skills (high/low), cross-country differences on Internet usage are analyzed by multilevel analysis techniques. The results highlight the importance of education for social inclusion and demonstrate the risk of exclusion of low-skilled community. This study contributes to explain the emergence of cleavages around the educational differences in post-industrialized societies and its association to the social mobility of groups.

Keywords:

Digital Divide, social exclusion, labor market dualism, net usage.