Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Dijital Eşitsizlik Deneyimleri
University Students' Experiences of Digital Inequality

Summary/Abstract: In history, only different segments of society have been able to speak of welfare. Welfare is related to economic provision. The economic offer has changed over the centuries about agricultural products, goods, products, services and experiences. In this age where information is transformed into an economic good based on fiber optic cable and microchip technology. There is now a class that takes an active role in the production of knowledge, which is an economic value, and different class structures consisting of individuals who do not have the competence to produce knowledge. While progress is being made by both groups with and without ownership and access constraints, the high rate of progress of the first group leads to inequality in the possession. While digital inequality is expected to be eliminated in many parts of the world, unfortunately, the problem of digital inequality among students continues to be experienced in the field of education. This study focuses on identifying the dimensions of digital inequality and experiences from the perspective of university students who put digital technologies at the center of their lives. Understanding the experiences of disadvantaged students can improve peer empathy and the educational institution's ability to understand its students. In the research part which designed to describe the areas and experiences of digital inequality of Ege University students, explains the possible losses of disadvantaged students, strategies to overcome losses, and emotional states caused by ownership-access barriers. Data were collected from students representing the two extremes of inequality through in-depth interviews using extreme or deviant case sampling, and the data set was subjected to thematic content analysis and descriptive analysis using computer-aided qualitative analysis programs. Disadvantaged students could not follow the courses synchronously due to both not having a digital technological tool and problems arising from access to the internet infrastructure, and this situation could lead to not being able to establish the necessary dialogue with the faculty member, a decrease in course grades, or failure in the course. Advantageous students were able to follow the courses synchronously, prepare their homework and projects quickly and easily, and easily adapt to the distance/hybrid education process thanks to digital hardware ownership and access.

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