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This article explores how digital exclusion measured by citizens' occasional social media use and their skeptical social media attitude may affect their satisfaction with democracy (SWD), which is critical for public engagement and democratic stability in Europe.

This study employs multilevel regression to test the hypotheses proposed in the context of Europe and uses cross-level data sources. Individual-level data, including social media use frequency and attitude and SWD, come from the 2012, 2014 and 2016 Eurobarometer surveys. Country-level data are derived from multiple pre-existing datasets.

The empirical results suggest that digital exclusion measured by occasional use and skeptical attitude are negatively associated with the likelihood of SWD. Additionally, the negative effect of a skeptical attitude increases in importance over time. Finally, although government transparency can mitigate the negative effect of a skeptical attitude, its role in mitigating the negative effect of occasional use is effective only in countries with moderate or low transparency levels.

This study preliminarily explores the direct, changing and conditional impacts of digital exclusion in social media on SWD. It also deepens our understanding of digital exclusion by differentiating between its physical and motivational aspects, which relate to public engagement and equity and then comparing their relative importance.

The purpose of this paper is to critique the discourse of the digital divide and to propose ways of responding to digital inequalities.

Illustrations of arguments are based on reviews of academic literature, projects reports, policy documents and research findings from the Penceil project, and are informed by critical theory. The research consisted of 47 semi‐structured interviews and action research involving designing an e‐literacy curriculum and running a course based on it.

A discourse of missed opportunities and “being left behind”, present in policy statements and popular media, leads to objectifying non‐users of information and communication technologies (ICT) as “others”. This discourse is often internalised by non‐users, but it does not necessarily lead to positive actions, leaving some feeling inadequate. So far initiatives seeking to address the digital divide have had moderate success. To respond to digital exclusion we need to oppose the unchecked spread of e‐services, and help non‐users of ICT to become users or (if they choose to) informed “refusniks”. Initiatives aiming to facilitate people's sustainable and meaningful use of ICT ought to draw on individual and community resources. A curriculum should be determined by learners' experiences and their expressions of needs, and go beyond IT skills.

The paper does not offer a comprehensive review of digital exclusion, concentrating instead on chosen problems and arguments. It is based on the UK experience, and thus more relevant to developed rather than developing countries.

The paper raises awareness of different issues related to digital exclusion and ways of addressing them.

The paper calls to question current discourse and initiatives addressing the digital divide, highlighting their limitations. It presents alternative ways of responding to digital exclusion.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the issues of social and digital exclusion and inclusion arising from the development of a digitalised society. It aims to highlight the significance of this for the study of information systems by describing the context for this special issue, outlining a number of previously under‐researched areas, giving an overview of the papers chosen for this special issue and describing future directions for research that recognise non‐users and marginal users as important actors in designing and evaluating systems in use.

The paper sets the scene by discussing the impact of mass involvement in digital culture on the field of information systems and analyses each paper, suggesting ways in which they relate to the chosen themes and drawing conclusions from this discussion.

The papers chosen address thematic issues, theoretical foundations, methodological issues, empirical studies and reflections on inclusion and exclusion from the digital society.

The paper highlights the growing interest in engagement with the digital culture in the information systems discipline and enables reflection on barriers and opportunities for developing research across boundaries of disciplines, cultures, organizations and accepted topics. It indicates that information systems researchers have an ethical responsibility to consider the impacts of innovations on the least powerful in society as well as the more privileged.

This article aims to highlight the main limitations of the emancipatory potentials of digital inclusion policies and information and communication technologies (ICTs). Increasingly, empowerment is put forward as one of the main goals of digital inclusion. By applying user-centric and participatory approaches, assumptions are made that individuals will be empowered and, as such, will be re-included in society.

These assumptions, however, tend to ignore the social, economic, political and technical conditions within which individual choices are made and within which individuals must inevitably act. Instead of attempting to narrow the existing social gap between class-divided societies, and of probing the limitations given at the macro-level by questioning the wider social structure, digital inclusion policies tend to individualize problems that are in fact social in their nature.

This contribution will, therefore, aim to identify the key causes of structural (dis)empowerment and how these resonate to digital inclusion. The article positions itself within the political economy of communication research tradition and aims to confront the structural consequences of social inequalities, existing social hierarchies and power structures against mechanisms of digital inequalities and against the implementation of digital inclusion policies.

By proceeding from a critical perspective, it aims to demonstrate the limitations of user-centric and micro-level approaches, while questioning their normative interpretations of digital empowerment which tend to be reductionist in their essence and instrumental in their aims.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors which influence refugee migrants’ adoption of digital technology and its relevance to their social inclusion in Australia.

This research developed a conceptual framework keeping the “use” of digital technology as the centre-piece of the digital divide. The empirical data were derived from a series of focus group discussions with refugee migrants in an Australian regional city, Toowoomba in Queensland.

There is a digital divide among refugee migrant groups and it is based on inequalities in physical access to and use of digital technology, the skills necessary to use the different technologies effectively and the ability to pay for the services. The opportunities to use digital technology could support the social inclusion of refugee migrant groups in the broader Australian community.

Further research is required to examine whether this digital divide is unique in the regional context or common to Australian society and to confirm factors that might contribute significantly to refugee migrants’ social inclusion.

This paper determined the role digital technology can play in building social capital and hence social inclusion among refugee migrant groups. Many of the factors identified as influencing refugee migrants’ use of digital technology can inform the Australian government and the information and communication technology industry in devising supportive policies and plans to reduce the risk of social exclusion, alienation and marginalisation among refugee migrant groups.

This study aims to provide a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of social exclusion research, examining its evolution and identifying emerging trends and influential contributions in the field.

Using bibliometric and thematic analysis of 3,041 Scopus database documents, the study uses tools like VOSviewer for network analysis and Biblioshiny for trend analysis, focusing on publication patterns, author contributions and thematic clusters.

The findings reveal significant growth in social exclusion research since 1979, highlighting key contributions from diverse academic fields. Notable trends include the rise of digital exclusion and environmental justice themes. The study identifies leading authors, institutions and countries contributing to this field, along with highly cited documents that have shaped the discourse on social exclusion.

The study acknowledges its reliance on Scopus data and suggests incorporating other databases for future research. It highlights the need to explore emerging topics and address literature gaps.

This paper presents a unique bibliometric perspective on social exclusion research, underscoring its interdisciplinary nature and evolving focus. The study’s comprehensive approach offers valuable insights into the field’s trajectory, contributing to a deeper understanding of social exclusion phenomena.

This paper explores how policy-level stakeholders tackle digital inclusion in the context of UK rural communities.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders that operate nationally in government departments, government funded organisations and third sector organisations that provided a policy-level perspective on digital inclusion initiative provision across England, Scotland and Wales. Activity theory (AT) was utilised as a theoretical framework, where a variety of factors–tools, rules, community, division of labour and contradictions–were found to have an influence on digital inclusion initiative provision.

Digital inclusion initiative provision in UK rural communities is organised through the multi-stakeholder involvement of national organisations, and collaboration with intermediary organisations to provide digital skills training and support. The process is fraught with difficulties and contradictions, limited knowledge sharing; reduced or poor-quality connectivity; lack of funding; lack of local resources; assumptions that organisations will indeed collaborate and assumptions that intermediary organisations have staff with the necessary skills and confidence to provide digital skills training and support within the rural context.

This study highlights the benefit of using AT as a lens to develop a nuanced understanding of how policy-level stakeholders tackle digital inclusion.

This study can inform policy decisions on digital inclusion initiative provision suitable for rural communities.

The contribution of this paper provides new insights into the understanding of how policy-level stakeholders tackle digital inclusion and the provision of digital inclusion initiatives; it builds on the use of AT to help unpick the complexity of digital inclusion initiative provision as a phenomenon; it reveals contradictions in relation to trust, and the need for knowledge sharing mechanisms to span and align different interpretations of digital inclusion across the policy-level; and reveals an extension of AT demonstrated through the “granularity of the subject” which enables the multi-actor involvement of the stakeholders involved in digital inclusion at policy-level to emerge.

This chapter analyzes the link between the digital divide, infrastructure regulation, and disaster planning and relief through a case study of the flood in San Jose, California triggered by the Anderson dam’s overtopping in February 2017 and an examination of communication failures during the 2018 wildfire in Paradise, California. This chapter theorizes that regulatory decisions construct social and disaster vulnerability. Rooted in the Whole Community approach to disaster planning and relief espoused by the United Nations and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, this chapter calls for leadership to end the digital divide. It highlights the imperative of understanding community information needs and argues for linking strategies to close the digital divide with infrastructure and emergency planning. As the Internet’s integration into society increases, the digital divide diminishes access to societal resources including disaster aid, and exacerbates wildfire, flood, pandemic, and other risks. To mitigate climate change, climate-induced disaster, protect access to social services and the economy, and safeguard democracy, it argues for digital inclusion strategies as a centerpiece of community-centered infrastructure regulation and disaster relief.