Who uses the internet of things is used as a social platform?

What is it about?

In our paper we set out to explain how much the Internet of Things (IoT) is used as a social platform according to individual resources people might have. In sharing IoT data, we distinguish between partners, acquaintances, strangers, or not wittingly sharing. We predicted positive contributions to sharing IoT according to income, cultural factors like education and cultural engagement, and social factors in social engagement and forms of civic memberships. We compared to internet skills people may have acquired with proficient internet use. We found that using the IoT can largely be contributed to internet skills, whereas using the IoT as a social platform is largely predicted by economic, cultural, and social factors.

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Why is it important?

Digital inequalities have been studied as an increasing risk to marginalization for already disadvantaged people. With the increase of Internet of Things (IoT) new forms of inequalities, not only by have or have-not's, come to surface. Think about like being able to share your bio-metrics with your doctor for advanced personalized care, or personalizing your smart home to increase your energy savings. Skills, in the context of the IoT, can mean a direct difference in letting the IoT platform work for you or being exploited by insurance companies and the like.

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