{"id":216,"date":"2020-05-20T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/?p=216"},"modified":"2020-05-18T17:22:31","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T16:22:31","slug":"digital-connectivity-something-we-take-for-granted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/2020\/05\/20\/digital-connectivity-something-we-take-for-granted\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Connectivity: Something We Take for Granted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Amanda Lubit<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>PhD Candidate in Anthropology<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>13\/05\/2020<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffff\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When lockdown was announced there were many things that I, and\nothers like me, worried about &#8211; how to get groceries and medications, if my\nfamily would be safe, and what this would mean for my field work. One thing I\ndid not worry about was how to get online. But more so than ever, we rely on\nthe internet for all kinds of access. We use it for Covid-19 news and guidance,\nfood delivery services, communication with families and friends, work and\nschool. But not everyone has such easy access to the internet or the equipment\nneeded to access it like smartphones, laptops and tablets. Without these\nthings, lockdown causes further isolation and disadvantages.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This has become clear during my research with a women\u2019s space that\ncaters to asylum seekers and refugees here in Belfast. When lockdown began, I\nwas impressed with the speed and agility with which the group adapted and moved\nonline using Zoom. Not only have they continued to offer several regular\nclasses, but they also expanded their offerings in response to the women\u2019s\nrequests and interests. Five days a week, women come together online to\npractice English, learn Chinese auto-massage, do yoga, or to cook together. And\nduring these Zoom calls they also catch up and connect with one another. While\nthese online activities could never fully replace in-person social activities,\nthe women do feel they help them feel less alone and isolated. The problem is\nthat while a core group of women do participate regularly, many more women do\nnot have the technology or connectivity they need to participate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many women lack WiFi and the money to acquire it. That means they\nhave limited opportunities to connect to the world outside their home. Before\nthe lockdown, women would go to cafes, libraries and other public spaces with\nfree WiFi for hours a day. That is no longer possible. And as a result, these\nwomen and their families are dramatically isolated from services, resources,\nfriends and family. Children are home without access that would allow them to\ncontinue their education. Many also lack televisions, games, and other things\nwe take for granted to keep ourselves entertained. Imagine being home with\nchildren for weeks on end, trying to keep them indoors but having nothing to\nkeep them busy. On top of that, these women are separated from family members\nin other countries \u2013 unable to speak to husbands, children, mothers, etc. if\nthey have no WiFi that makes regular calls affordable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The problem of digital connectivity for marginalized populations\nis not new, but coronavirus has heightened the problem for the most vulnerable.\nInternet connectivity has become a necessity, especially during a prolonged\nlockdown. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amanda Lubit PhD Candidate in Anthropology 13\/05\/2020 When lockdown was announced there were many things that I, and others like me, worried about &#8211; how to get groceries and medications, if my family would be safe, and what this would mean for my field work. One thing I did not worry about was how to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":787,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifeinlockdown"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/787"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":228,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions\/228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}