The role of local intermediaries in the process of digitally engaging non-users of the internet

This article aims to provide a better understanding of the process of becoming digitally engaged. Those who cannot utilise digital networks are systematically disadvantaged, particularly in a hyper-connected world in which services are provided online by default. By interviewing and observing clients and trainers at a telecentre, the ACT Digital Hub, this study investigated the process that non-internet users undergo - from digital readiness to digital engagement - in order to become adept users. Intermediaries such as telecentres play a crucial role in equipping non-users with digital readiness, which is a precursor to digital media literacy. Social environment also plays a significant role in non-users' digital readiness. Rather than focusing merely on the provision of access to bridge the digital divide, we need a longer-term investment in adequate environments, such as sustainable community training centres, that nurture digital readiness.