E-government and the hurdle of the “digital divide”? Rethinking the responses of the underprivileged in COVID-19 Hong Kong

Abstract

The digital divide and insufficient social capital of aging, undereducated, and low-income nonnetizens are usually explained by the underpopularization of e-government. This review article moves beyond the mainstream concern over resources and technicalities and seeks to explore the reasons for reluctance, from digital vulnerabilities to e-service. We examine the varying responses to the three e-services launched by the Hong Kong government during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, online vaccination registration, electronic consumption vouchers, and social distancing apps in smartphones, and find that their perception of trust and security could be the major reservation of e-service users. How could we understand the “values” they harbor, and in what circumstances would they be more accepting of the new inventories? Our findings from this developed society in the Asian context might assist policymakers in pushing e-government forward in the post-COVID era.