May 14, 2019, Grace Shallow - Technical.ly
What’s the overlap between the rise in digital non-connectedness in Philly and joblessness?
Hannah Sassaman of the Media Mobilizing Project recently asked us to answer this question via reporting collective Broke in Philly.
It’s an important consideration for Philadelphia, especially, which has the second-lowest rate of broadband access of the nation’s 25 largest cities at 71.6%, according to a 2018 Philadelphia Inquirer analysis of census data. It was also the only large city to record a decrease in internet access between 2016 and 2017.
Per Sassaman’s colleague Devren Washington, lack of digital literacy impacts a person’s unemployment from the very beginning of their job search in the city.
“People who struggle with digital literacy are less likely to own a computer or know how to use it as a tool in their job search,” he wrote in an email to Technical.ly. “This puts them at a disadvantage in comparison to other candidates. If they manage to navigate sites like Indeed or Monster, which requires a certain level of digital competency, application sorting algorithms reduce the chances of their application being seen.”
And the disadvantages go on. These candidates are less likely to even find jobs to apply for and will submit fewer applications than others, Washington added.