Abstract
Purpose ”“ The paper aims at assessing the evolution of the digital divide in Brazil in the last decade from a multidimensional perspective, going beyond the issue of access. How have the inequalities in the use of Internet in Brazil varied through time?
 Methodology ”“ The paper investigates the relationship between individual socioeconomic characteristics and household characteristics, and the pattern of Internet access and use in Brazil using multivariate analysis, drawing on data from national ICT surveys between the years 2000 and 2019.
 Findings ”“ The results show that increasing access do not necessarily result in a more equitable adoption and use of available online resources. They highlight a persistent “digital elite” capable of a more sophisticated use of the Internet. The maintenance ”” and even the increase ”” of differences in the use of Internet is in line with part of the literature on digital inclusion.
 Practical Implications ”“ The study underscores the importance of developing methodological frameworks to better measure the digital divide, allowing it to be used as the independent variable in broader analyses of income inequality and access to public services, for instance. Additionally, the persistence of a "second level digital divide" in Brazil points to the need for policies that address the "digital skills gap" enabling the realization of the Internet's potential to ease social disparities.
 Originality ”“ Despite the existing literature on the relationship between online inequalities and other kinds of inequalities, there are still few empirical studies, especially with a multidimensional perspective.
Highlights
The paper aims at assessing the evolution of the digital divide in Brazil in the last decade from a multidimensional perspective, going beyond the issue of access
The maintenance — and even the increase — of differences in the use of Internet is in line with part of the literature on digital inclusion
The study underscores the importance of developing methodological frameworks to better measure the digital divide, allowing it to be used as the independent variable in broader analyses of income inequality and access to public services, for instance
Summary
Desde os primeiros trabalhos teóricos sobre a exclusão digital tem havido uma ampla repercussão da hipótese de que as desigualdades on-line podem reforçar outras desigualdades, na medida em que os benefícios tangíveis decorrentes da utilização da rede são apropriados de maneira desigual. Enquanto a Pnad permite maior desagregação regional e o cruzamento dos dados de uso da Internet com indicadores de acesso a outros serviços essenciais, a TIC Domicílios detalha os usos da rede desempenhados pelos indivíduos, incluindo a medição de atividades de comunicação, educacionais, comércio eletrônico e governo eletrônico – fatores que têm se mostrado fundamentais para a caracterização das desigualdades digitais para além do uso. Para a dimensão do uso, consideramos indicador de uso individual da rede nos últimos três meses (HH7: Proportion of individuals using the Internet) em áreas urbanas conforme a TIC Domicílios entre 2005 e 2019 – dado que a amostra da pesquisa passou a considerar áreas rurais somente a partir de 2008. A partir de 2012, verifica-se uma equidade na porcentagem de usuários de Internet que permanece até os dias atuais (Gráfico 2)
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