Trends and Friends: Access, use and benefits of digital technology for homeless and ex-homeless people

Trends and Friends
social media sites accessible to others. In addition, concerns based on well-publicised privacy
scandals were expressed. Aside from privacy, one clearly emerging concern was the threat
of losing face-to-face contact with people, and in particular being denied services due to an
increased systematic use of digital technology.
Respondents’ negative experiences and safety concerns
When asked if people had experienced any problems with safety or privacy when using digital
technology the majority (74%) of those that answered (132 respondents) said that they had
none. Sixteen knew somebody else who had experienced a problem with security or privacy.
Nine per cent of the Groundswell questionnaire respondents said they had had their identity
stolen online.
A few people did speak of experiences – particularly with social media – which were threats
to security and well-being. These included the more extreme examples of offline harassment,
such as those discussed in the social networks chapter but also included blackmail and online
bullying.
• ‘He made a mistake online and he was consequently getting blackmailed for it […] My
brother is very trusting, so he ended up talking to people online, meeting people online. He
don’t get the internet. He was like, ‘oh I meet people’ online and then consequently he met
the wrong people.’ 82
Although relatively few respondents said they had experienced a problem with safety, security
or privacy using digital technology, a higher proportion had concerns about this. Among the
Lemos&Crane respondents who answered this question (88), 48% said that safety and privacy
was something that concerned them, of whom 24 said that their concerns affected the way
they use the internet. There was a clear correlation between age and concerns about safety
and privacy. Thirty-five per cent of those under 30 were worried about safety and privacy,
compared to 84% of those over 30. These seemed to be general concerns – when asked to
specify particular concerns a relatively large number of both the under 30s and the over 30s
were unable to (77% and 75%, respectively).
• ‘I want to tell you I am getting old and I am getting scared.’ 83
Some people had few concerns simply because they avoided particular online activities such
as banking and online shopping, or putting their details online.
People were primarily concerned about the security of their personal information and the
threat of identity theft or fraud. Concerns about bullying, harassment, blackmail or other
online threats were less common, at 6%. This was mirrored in the Groundswell survey. Just
6% mentioned being bullied or attacked online as one of their worries (selecting three main
82
Male, 20 speaking to a Groundswell peer researcher
83
Male, 60 (speaking with a Groundswell peer researcher)
42