Social Inclusion and Social Frontiers in the Digital Age - How Can EU's Digital Agenda Help?
Social Inclusion and Social Frontiers in the Digital Age - How Can EU's Digital Agenda Help?

Summary/Abstract: The present article analyses social frontiers in the European Union by putting them in connection with the ever-growing network society we are experiencing nowadays. It builds upon the classification of borders as barriers and resources in order to explain the role of technology, especially the Internet, within the social development of the European Union. Technology, namely access to it and having skills to use it, can create social rifts by excluding certain social categories, and the European Union’s efforts in this direction aim at both reducing this digital divide as well as harnessing the power of technology in the name of economic growth and cohesion. On the other hand, social frontiers in the digital age act also as community builders because they are focused on improving communication. Also, the increasing influence of technology in society has created several challenges, which can hinder both community development and social inclusion.

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