Q2. What are the future works in "Measuring the digital divide at regional level. a spatial analysis of the inequalities in digital development of households and individuals in europe" ?
It can consequently be deduced, following Helsper ( 2012, Helsper, and Reisdorf, ( 2017 )., Van Dijk ( 2005 ), Witte and Mannon ( 2010 ) and Pick and Nishida ( 2015 ), that regions and countries with a high socioeconomic level reinforce their level of digital development in comparison with regions and countries with lower levels of per capita income, thus suggesting, as a hypothesis for future studies, that the spatial distribution of digital development at regional level follows in the wake of, and is a direct result of, the socio-economic development of these geographical areas. Moreover, and depending on the results obtained, future lines of research could be proposed for further or more detailed study of digital development and the DD with respect to households/individuals at regional level in Europe. In these works, it is clear that this phenomenon may be due to the attraction that social networks have for groups of younger users/consumers ; and this suggests that the use of applications is not limited to regions with a considerable deployment and use of ITCs. Consequently, it seems to suggest that there is no limit to people ’ s use of social networks due to age and/or level of education or income.
Q3. What is the effect of geographical proximity on the spatial distribution of social networks in Europe?
the use of social networks by broadband has a more random distribution of spatial clusters in European regions and, therefore, a random spatial pattern.
Q4. What is the reference area for the analysis of digital development of households and individuals in Europe?
The reference area chosen for the regional analysis of digital development of households and individuals in Europe is the NUTS 2 level.
Q5. What is the effect of geographical proximity on the spatial distribution of European regions with similar levels of use?
geographical vicinity has less influence on the spatial distribution of European regions with similar levels of use of social networks by broadband.
Q6. Where are the clusters of European regions with the lowest percentage of households and individuals that use social?
the clusters of European regions with the lowest percentages of households and individuals that use social networks (cold spots with confidence levels over 99% with an average DIM2 value below 54%) are mainly concentrated in France (except Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Lorraine).
Q7. What are the main indicators and indices used to measure the DD?
the mainindicators and indices created by different institutions to measure the DD have mainly been applied at country level: the “ICT Development Index” published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU, 2017), the World Economic Forum's “Networked Readiness Index” (World Economic Forum, 2017) and the “Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI- European Commission, 2017), which has been published annually by the European Commission since 2014, among others.
Q8. What are the limitations of this research?
Despite the limitations indicated above, the results of this research could be used for digital policy planning, and decision-making at regional level (NUTS 2).
Q9. Why is the HIDDI a complementary indicator to the existing ones?
For this reason, the HIDDI is a complementary indicator to the existing ones because it analyses the DD at a greater level of spatial detail, especially in large countries and/or countries with regional differences.
Q10. What are the main limitations of the national indicators to measure the DD?
Despite these limitations, the national indicators developed to measure ICT deployment and usage revealed the existence of different levels of DD between geographical areas, such as the north-south divide at global/worldwide level, or that which exists between EU Member States (Moroz, 2017; Cruz-Jesus et al., 2012; Schlichter and Danylchenko, 2014; Corrocher and Ordanini, 2002).
Q11. Where is the cluster of the highest percentage of households and individuals that use social networks?
the cluster made up of the European regions with the lowest percentages (LL) of households and individuals that use social networks by broadband (15% of the NUTS with a DIM2 below the average of 59.2%) is concentrated almost exclusively in France (except the regions of Champagne-Ardenne, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Lorraine and Corse), as well as in two regions in eastern Turkey (Ortadogu Anadolu and Kuzeydogu Anadolu).