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Platform Labour and the Mobile Underclass: Barriers to Participation in the United States and India
[conference paper]
This document is a part of the following document:
Proceedings of the Weizenbaum Conference 2019 "Challenges of Digital Inequality - Digital Education, Digital Work, Digital Life"
Abstract Online crowdwork platforms have been praised as powerful vehicles for economic development, particularly for workers traditionally excluded from the labor market. However, there has been insufficient scrutiny as to the feasibility of crowdwork as an income-source among socio-economically deprived po... view more
Online crowdwork platforms have been praised as powerful vehicles for economic development, particularly for workers traditionally excluded from the labor market. However, there has been insufficient scrutiny as to the feasibility of crowdwork as an income-source among socio-economically deprived populations. This paper examines device requirements and differential access to digital infrastructure, both of which act as potential barriers to not only basic participation but also to economic success. Given the increasing prevalence of mobile-first and mobile-only populations, research on this topic aids in understanding the crowdwork ecosystem among differing socio-economic sectors. Based on a survey of 606 crowd workers in the United States and India, this paper uses both quantitative and qualitative data to explore whether reliance on mobile devices is detrimental for the economic outcomes of crowdwork. The results point to substantial inequalities in device use and received benefits from crowdwork, within each country and between the two contexts.... view less
Keywords
online service; infrastructure; cell phone; employee; digital divide; technical equipment; India; digital media; inequality; United States of America
Classification
Labor Market Research
Interactive, electronic Media
Free Keywords
Crowdwork; Mobile Underclass; Digital Inequalities; Amazon Mechanical Turk; Weizenbaum-Institut; Weizenbaum Institute
Collection Title
Proceedings of the Weizenbaum Conference 2019 "Challenges of Digital Inequality - Digital Education, Digital Work, Digital Life"
Conference
2. Weizenbaum Conference. Berlin, 2019
Document language
English
Publication Year
2019
City
Berlin
Page/Pages
3 p.
Status
Primary Publication; peer reviewed