Methodology for regional assessment of the third level digital inequality

Abstract

The article describes and analyzes the three levels of digital inequality in society currently identified, and examines the world experience of their assessment. It is shown that the third level of digital inequality is the most difficult for research. It represents an uneven distribution of opportunities for obtaining important results in real life (employment, education, participation in political life, etc.) through the use of modern technologies. The authors have developed a methodology for the regional quantitative assessment of third-level digital inequality by analyzing the popularity of Google search query topics related to three categories: “Everyday services and services”, “Education, science and technology”, “Entertainment”. These categories are highlighted as markers for evaluating the effectiveness of Internet use by the population. At the same time, an increased search interest in entertainment indicates a lower efficiency of Internet use, and a higher interest in services and education. The indexes of popularity of search queries for each of the categories are calculated and then, based on them, an integral index of the efficiency of Internet use in the regions of Russia is calculated. Statistical data for the study were collected using the Google Trends service for 2016–2020. All calculated indicators are presented on maps, their territorial features are identified and described. The lowest level of Internet use efficiency is observed in the regions of the North Caucasus, and the highest is in the Republics of Tatarstan and Sakha (Yakutia), as well as in Moscow and St. Petersburg.