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This work represents the first attempt to position digital capital as cumulative and transferable, independent from, and intertwined with the other five forms of capitals. The book aims to propose a theoretical toolkit and empirical model that can be used by policy makers to tackle social inequalities created by the digital exclusion of citizens.

PurposeThis paper according to the logic of the “digital access divide--digital capability divide--digital outcome divide” aims to systematically discuss the impact of the digital divide on individual happiness in China, accounting for the variations that exist across different groups, as well as the corresponding mechanisms.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents cross-sectional analyses of the relationship between the digital divide and individual happiness in China. The analyses are based on data from the Chinese General Social Survey 2017, which academic institutions run on the Chinese Mainland. This database contains information on respondents' Internet access, skills and consequences of use, which can measure the digital divide of Chinese individuals at three levels.FindingsFirst, individual happiness declined when they experienced the digital access divide in China. For the digital capability divide, the lower the usage skills, the more individual happiness declined. When analyzing the digital outcome divide, the greater the negative consequences, the more individual happiness declined. Second, the impacts of digital access, capability and outcome divide vary according to age, gender, education degrees, hukou, region and sub-dimensions. Third, the digital access and capability divide reduce individuals' happiness by lowering their self-rated social and economic status, whereas the digital outcome divide reduce individual happiness by lowering their fairness perception and social trust.Originality/valueThe authors believe that this is the first study to examine the impact and its variations among different groups of the three-level digital divide on individual happiness, as well as its mechanisms.

Background The rapid development of digital technologies has fundamentally changed the care for older adults. However, not all older adults have equal opportunities to access and use the technologies, more importantly, be able to benefit from the technologies. We aimed to explore (1) the prevalence and the trend in the prevalence of digital divide in older adults, including digital access gap, digital use gap (specifically, using digital technologies for health commutation [e-communication gap]), and self-efficacy in information seeking gap (cognitive gap); (2) sociodemographic factors related to three perspectives of digital divide; and (3) the association between digital divide and self-rated health (exploratory). Methods Adults aged 65 years or older ( N  = 5,671, weighted mean [SD] age = 74.26 [10.09] years) from the Health Information National Trends Surveys (2017–2020) were analyzed using the weighted logistic and linear regression models. Results There was a significant linear decrease in the adjusted prevalence of digital access gap (odds ratio [OR] = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.78, 0.94) and the e-communication gap (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.82, 0.95) over time. However, there were no significant changes in cognitive gap between 2017 and 2019, and between 2018 and 2020. Overall, older adults with digital divide were more likely to be less educated, have less income, and self-identified as Hispanic people. Univariate analyses found that three perspectives of digital divide were significantly associated with poor self-rated health. Multivariate analyses adjusted for covariates (e.g., age and sex) found that the access gap but not the e-commutation gap was associated with self-rated health and that cognitive gap was only associated with self-rated health between 2018 and 2020 but not between 2017 and 2019. Conclusions Digital divide is decreasing but remains persistent and disproportionately affects self-rated health of older adults, particularly those who are socially disadvantaged (e.g., lower education and income). Continued efforts are needed to address digital divide among them.

\"Contrary to optimistic visions of a free internet for all, the problem of the 'digital divide' has persisted for close to twenty-five years. Jan van Dijk considers the state of digital inequality and what we can do to tackle it\"-- Provided by publisher.

The rapid integration of information technology into daily life has exacerbated the digital divide (DD), particularly among older adults, who often face barriers to technology adoption. Although prior research has linked technology use to cognitive benefits, the long-term neurostructural and cognitive consequences of the DD remain poorly understood. The aim of this study is to use large-scale neuroimaging data to examine how the DD affects long-term brain structure and cognitive aging in older adults. It specifically investigates (1) structural and cognitive differences between older adults with and without DD engagement, (2) predictive relationships between group-distinctive brain regions and cognitive outcomes, and (3) longitudinal impacts of DD exposure on accelerated aging trajectories of neural substrates and cognitive functions. The study included 1280 community-dwelling older adults (aged 65-90 y) who completed comprehensive cognitive assessments and structural magnetic resonance imaging scans at baseline. Longitudinal data were available for 689 participants (mean follow-up 3.2 y). Participants were classified into the DD (n=640) and overcoming DD (n=640) groups using rigorous propensity score matching to control for age, education, gender, and baseline health conditions. A computational framework using the searchlight technique and cross-validation classification model investigated group differences in structural features and cognitive representation. The aging rate of each voxel's structural feature was calculated to explore the long-term influence of the DD. The DD group showed significant deficits in executive function (t=4.75; P<.001; Cohen d=0.38) and processing speed (t=4.62; P<.001; Cohen d=0.37) compared to the overcoming DD group. Reduced gray matter volume in the DD group spanned the fusiform gyrus, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and superior temporal sulcus (false discovery rate-corrected P<.05). The computational framework identified the key structural substrates related to executive function and processing speed, excluding the ventro-orbitofrontal lobe (classification accuracy <0.6). Longitudinal findings highlighted the long-term impact of the DD. The DD group exhibited faster gray matter volume decline in the middle frontal gyrus (t=3.95 for the peak voxel in this cluster, false discovery rate-corrected P<.05), which mediated 17% of episodic memory decline (P=.02). Older adults who overcome the DD demonstrate preserved gray matter structure and slower cognitive decline, particularly in frontotemporal regions critical for executive function. Our findings underscore that mobile digital interventions should be explored as potential cognitive decline prevention strategies.

Despite numerous research studies examining the digital divide in the context of eHealth, studies specifically targeting inpatients remain limited. In comparison with the general population, inpatients typically undergo a progression from outpatient consultations to inpatient treatment and subsequent out-of-hospital rehabilitation. This sequential process gives rise to requirements across nearly all usage scenarios of eHealth services. Therefore, this study focuses on inpatients with potential interest in eHealth as the research subjects. This study aimed to analyze the digital divide in the awareness of, want for, and adoption of diverse eHealth services and further explore factors influencing these disparities among inpatients. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023, involving 1322 inpatients aged ≥15 years from 3 tertiary hospitals in Jinan, China. Data were collected through a face-to-face questionnaire survey. eHealth services were categorized into 3 types (ie, information-based, treatment intermediary, and treatment eHealth services). The adoption gap ratio is used to explore the gap between eHealth services' adoption and awareness or want. The awareness, want, and adoption gap segment matrix was used to further analyze the digital divide in eHealth services and categorize inpatients into 4 groups (ie, opened, perception deficiency, desire deficiency, and closed group), each of which was further divided into 4 subcategories (ie, strong, generic, want-bias, and awareness-bias). Binary logistic regression was used to explore potential influencing factors of awareness, want, and adoption across diverse eHealth services. The results showed that of 1322 inpatients, 1204 (91.1%) have awareness of eHealth services, 1169 (88.4%) have want for eHealth services, and 847 (64.1%) have adopted 1 or more of these services. Digital divides were observed in information-based eHealth, treatment intermediary, and treatment eHealth services, with adoption gap ratios reaching 32.1%, 34.1%, and 66.5%, respectively. Notably, all 3 eHealth services fell into the opened group. Among the 3 services, information-based eHealth services were located in the want-bias subgroup, treatment services belonged to the generic subgroup, and treatment intermediary services fell into the strong group. Binary logistic regression revealed that the influence of age, place of residence, educational attainment, income, self-rated health, chronic disease, eHealth literacy, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use on the awareness of, want for, and adoption of eHealth services showed notable difference and differed significantly depending on the types of eHealth services. This study provides empirical evidence on the existence of a digital divide in awareness, want, and adoption across diverse eHealth services among inpatients in Jinan, China. Given the promise and opportunities that eHealth services increase access to health care, future digital interventions should both address or bridge the digital divide in various eHealth services and consider the implementation of differentiated marketing strategies for diverse eHealth services.