More Than The Digital Divide
- Zoe Lim
- Jun 18, 2021
- 2 min read
With the lowest income group (with an annual income of less than 12k) in Singapore being the least satisfied and least trusting of Government Digital Services reported in the article, I wonder if there's more than meets the eye.
Presently, the differing perception between the rich and poor in Singapore is wider than and ranks at the top as compared with its global counterparts. Let's attempt to discuss if our digital services meet the needs of the low income households. Though the article did not spell out the services, let's consider the commonly used services such as CPF, IRAS, Digital Banking Services and HDB.
For above-average to wealthy income households, these digital platforms are not unfamiliar to them. They have liquid and non-liquid assets to manage and monitor frequently. They will likely be highly educated, tech savvy and working in high paying careers. They will also be more confident when using digital services as they are likely to be well-informed and more resourceful should help is needed. Most importantly, the digital services serve their financial needs.
In comparison, these digital services may not serve the needs of a low income family. They are likely to be renting a government flat, on various financial assistance schemes and do not own any assets. Fulfilling basic needs are their top priority and not financial planning. Therefore, there is no need for them to access the other digital services. The infrequent use and being less well-informed therefore leads to much distrust and unsatisfactory user experience.
The author suggests a need to "ensure appropriate provision of desired digital government services while promoting the benefits and reinforcing trust and transparency in management of data submitted to digital government services". This is a useful stop gap measure because it will take time to break the poverty mindset and cycle of the low income groups through education and support from the community.
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