Digital divide among students may widen under the pandemic

22/04/2020

Dr Ka Yee Elizabeth Loh and Prof Nancy Law

As all schools are closed amid the pandemic, students are forced to study from home. A study by the HKU Faculty of Education, has found that Hong Kong students vary greatly in their ability to use digital technology.

Professor Nancy Law, principal investigator of the multi-year study, said that students from low income families are at an disadvantage. As the digital gap may widen during the pandemic, the Hong Kong government should seize the opportunity to enhance students’ digital ability.

Among secondary and primary school students, 40% needed to share electronic devices with family members, while about 10% have no access to devices with large displays, according to the research project “Hong Kong Students’ Digital Citizenship Development.”

Please visit Digital Citizenship project for more details.