Digitally Excluded

Hello! My name is Michael and I have been made redundant since April 2019 from my job as a chef for a local public house. Since losing my job, I have been on Universal Credit for over a year in which I get £409.89 to live on each month. To say it's been difficult living on this amount of money is an understatement and I'm so keen to get out of the rut I'm currently in right now. Having no internet in a house I'm living with my grandmother Pippa is difficult because I'm unable to stay updated with my journal updates on Universal Credit or access my emails and even stay in touch with friends and family. My old iPhone 6S is still going but only just on a cheap SIM-only contract which costs £10 a month. The only internet I can access is in my local library or on my phone, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the library has closed which has meant that I've become more disconnected with my friends and work coach. Previously, I used to have a laptop prior to losing my job, which would have been my lifeline to still engaging with friends and family. After a month of being made redundant, my laptop had decided to die, leaving me with limited internet access at best. Even the internet on my SIM-only contract on my phone barely lasts half a month, which means I'm disconnected from everyone when my allotted data allowance runs out. Most of my friends don't even call me but at least I have 500 texts which is not much, but its better than nothing. I would love to have any job that gets me out the house, I'm not fussy and enjoy working in a team. Can you help me become a digitally inclusive member of society? <h4>[[Continue the game]]</h4> <h4>[[I'm not playing anymore]]</h4>

Excellent! Thank you so much. As I have been living without home broadband for the past year, it's meant that trying to find a job has been next to impossible unless I go and use the internet from the library. I've been spending most of the £409.89 I get from Universal Credit on food, energy bills and a cheap SIM-only contract for my phone. However, if I want to get a job, then I will need to be able to install home broadband in my grandmother's house. My grandmother is reluctant towards having broadband in her house but I tell her that if I want to get a job, I need to get online and not rely on the internet from the library. What do you do? <h4>[[Convince your grandmother to get home broadband]]</h4> <h4>[[Don't bother, it's not worth it]]</h4>

Michael spends 30 minutes convincing Pippa to install home broadband in her house. He goes as far to show that he wants fibre broadband, which is not only expensive, but takes a significant chunk out of the money he gets on Universal Credit. After much deliberation, Pippa gives the go-ahead for installing broadband, but she tells him that it's going to come out of his own pocket and he's got to pay for the broadband if he wants to keep it in the house. Also, she's not switching away from the line rental she's paying for her phone line through BT. As the house has a BT phone line, it means that getting cable broadband through Virgin Media means having to change suppliers, which is one of the drawbacks for getting fast fibre home broadband for the household. Which broadband provider should I go for? <h4>[[BT - Expensive, but fast]]</h4> <h4>[[Plusnet - Cheap, fast fibre broadband]]</h4> <h4>[[Sky - Slightly cheaper than BT, but still expensive]]</h4> <h4>[[TalkTalk - Cheap, but inconsistent broadband speeds]]</h4>

You've tried to convince your grandmother to have home broadband installed in your house, but she refused to budge to your request of getting broadband in your house. Michael feels trapped at the moment, facing a choice of being digitally excluded from society permanently or at least having a lifelong future of being jobless. All the hope he's had over the last year has slowly sapped away. At least, he's never been sanctioned from being on Universal Credit and has done everything his work coach has told him to do. It's got him nowhere near employment and he's thinking of quitting Universal Credit altogether. He still holds onto the hope that he will get a job soon enough. <h4>[[Next... -> Michael heads to the library]]</h4>

The stress of being digitally excluded has gotten to Michael and he's decided to take his own life. In a letter he wrote to his grandmother Pippa, it said: Dear Pippa, The stress of not being in a job for so long, as well as not being able to do things I once enjoyed with my friends has meant I do not see a way out. I've tried for over a year to find a job with limited success and being on Universal Credit has made me so depressed to the point that I withdraw from society every time I try to make some progress but end up going to the lowest rung of the ladder again. Not being able to access the internet has made things worse and not having broadband in the house has meant many long days in the library trying to find work but not getting anything has meant I don't see a way out of this anytime soon. Thank you so much for looking after me since my parents broke up in unfortunate circumstances and I will forever be in your debt. I love you Pippa. Michael Pippa reads the letter Michael has written and is in tears at Michael taking his own life. <h4>[[The end of the game]]</h4>

Makes sense considering I've got a BT landline in my house that my grandmother pays for. It is expensive though, the cheapest fibre broadband is £28 a month for 24 months, but if my grandmother is already paying for line rental, then I will need to convince her that I'll pay for the entire service I get from BT. If it means it takes a slight chunk out of the money I get through Universal Credit each month, then so be it! <h4>[[Next... ->Get BT broadband]]</h4>

It's cheap and will not take a huge chunk of what I'm getting through Universal Credit, but my grandmother did say to get my broadband through BT. <h4>[[Back to the options menu ->Convince your grandmother to get home broadband]] </h4>

Your grandmother said to get broadband through BT right? This is not BT and she has no interest in paying for lots of channels which will be glossed over through the broadband package you recommended to her. <h4>[[Back to the options menu ->Convince your grandmother to get home broadband]] </h4>

Did you tell yourself that you would never get TalkTalk broadband? Your friend who used to have that broadband provider told you of how terrible the customer service and broadband speeds were on TalkTalk. I'm definitely not buying anything from TalkTalk anytime soon that's for sure. <h4>[[Back to the options menu ->Convince your grandmother to get home broadband]] </h4>

<strong>Michael</strong>: I'm getting the BT Fibre 1 broadband package. <strong>Pippa</strong>: Wonderful. Does it mean that you'll be paying for my line rental and phone package too alongside the broadband? <strong>Michael</strong>: Yes, that'll come with the entire package. There's a small fee with the setup but it should not take more than one or two weeks at best. <strong>Pippa</strong>: Great. Does it mean I can still call my friends and family? <strong>Michael</strong>: Yes, Pippa. You can do all that before the broadband is installed into the house. <strong>Pippa</strong>: How are you getting on with finding a job? <strong>Michael</strong>: Still struggling at the moment, thank you, but once I get broadband in this house, things will get better I hope. <strong>Pippa</strong>: Fingers crossed, in the next few weeks, you will get a job. <strong>Michael</strong>: One can hope. <h4>[[Next... -> One week later...]]</h4>

An engineer knocks on the door. Michael opens the door and says: <strong>Michael</strong>: Are you the BT engineer who will be installing my broadband in my house. <strong>BT engineer</strong>: Yes I am, can I come into the house please? <strong>Michael</strong>: Sure, come on in. The BT engineer walks into the house and asks Mike where's the landline? <strong>Michael</strong>: The landline? You'll have to ask my grandmother about that. Pippa! <strong>Pippa</strong>: Yes, Mike. What is it that you want from me? <strong>Michael</strong>: Do you know where the landline is situated in the house? <strong>Pippa</strong>: Yes, it's in the sitting room, near the front window. <strong>Michael</strong>: Thank you, Pippa. The landline is near the front window in the sitting room. <strong>BT engineer</strong>: Great. Do you have the broadband router sent to your house beforehand? <strong>Michael</strong>: Yes. It's here in my hands. <h4>[[Next... ->Installing the broadband]]</h4>

Michael walks to the library and heads to the computer to access his Universal Credit journal, he receives some bad news when logging onto his email account. Dear Michael, Despite being on Universal Credit for over a year and having limited success in finding work, I'm afraid I'm going to have to sanction you for not hitting the target of applying for 20 jobs a week. This means you will not be receiving your monthly payment of £409.89 for the next three months. You can challenge this appeal in court or accept that you will not be receiving any money from Universal Credit for the next three months. Kindest Regards, Department for Work and Pensions [[Next ->Here we go]]

Michael walks home from the library and tells the news to Pippa, his grandmother. <strong>Michael</strong>: I've been sanctioned. <strong>Pippa</strong>: Sanctioned from what? <strong>Michael</strong>: Sanctioned from receiving my Universal Credit payment for the next three months. <strong>Pippa</strong>: Why? <strong>Michael</strong>: Apparently, I've not applied for 20 jobs a week, which is what my Work Coach told me. <strong>Pippa</strong>: That's such a lame duck excuse for having a sanction applied here. <strong>Michael</strong>: The funny thing was I was always applying for jobs, even if I did not feel like doing it. Life can be so cruel and disgusting (Mike is so despondent right now). <strong>Pippa</strong>: Mike, are you alright? <strong>Michael</strong>: I'm fine, I'm heading to my bedroom now. Michael heads to his bedroom, defeated and exhausted from being sanctioned by his work coach. [[Next ->Michael heads to his bedroom]]

When Michael goes to his bedroom, he uncontrollably cries as his hopes of finding work and becoming a member of a digitally inclusive society fade away... <strong>Michael</strong>: Just end my life now. Universal Credit has made my life so difficult and I cannot see what my friends and family are doing right now. Being digitally excluded from society has meant I cannot do the things I loved to do when I was in work. Michael cries himself to sleep and is left motionless on his bed. Things continue to go from bad to worse for his quest to become a digital member of society. [[Next... -> The next day]]

Michael wakes up and leaves the home without saying a word to Pippa. All he's carrying on his way to the park is his belongings. As he heads to the river, he takes a deep breath and says his last words... <strong>Michael</strong>: I don't want to live like this anymore. The only option I have is to leave this planet and if it means taking my own life in this river, then so be it. While Michael has no swimming costume (he sold all his swimming equipment months ago), he jumps into the freezing water on the river and has a massive panic attack. Everyone in the park looks on with bewilderment as Michael is struggling to breathe in the water and after five minutes, a once happy man is left drowning in the river, never to be seen again. <h4>[[End the game ->The end of the game]]</h4>

Thank you very much for playing Digitally Excluded. What I wanted to do was try to create a game around what it would be like to be an individual who is digitally excluded. The option to install broadband at home or go without home internet access is one many people and families face in the UK. The Good Things Foundation's Blueprint for a 100% Digitally Included UK report found that <a href="https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/sites/default/files/blueprint-for-a-100-digitally-included-uk-0.pdf"> nearly a quarter of poor families do not have access at home to broadband or a desktop, laptop or tablet.</a> By creating a game around this subject, it would enable the player to put themselves in the shoes of someone who is living in digital exclusion and is trying to become a digital member of society. Having the aspect of getting a job online would replicate how unemployed people have to navigate the world of being excluded digitally from their local community. Thank you once again for playing Digitally Excluded. Umar <h4>[[Return to the start of the game->Digitally Excluded]]</h4>

Michael logs onto the Universal Credit website and finds out he's been sanctioned for not applying for the set number of jobs a week he's been allocated by his work coach. <strong>Michael</strong>: Oh no, I'm sanctioned by my work coach, but I guess I'm now a member of a digitally inclusive society now. No longer will I ever be digitally excluded again, but I fear that for the cost of being a member of a digital society will be short and brief. Frantically, Michael prepares for his appointment with the job centre for tomorrow morning. It's going to be a long day tomorrow, Mike sighs after his BT fibre broadband was installed in his house today. <h4>[[Next... ->The Job Centre appointment]]</h4>

Michael arrives at the job centre, full of anxiety and excitement as he awaits his appointment with his work coach. <strong>Work coach</strong>: Michael! <strong>Michael</strong>: Yes, that's me. <strong>Work coach</strong>: Mike, nice to meet you. How are you doing? <strong>Michael</strong>: I'm doing much better than I was two weeks ago. <strong>Work coach</strong>: Great, did you get the message in your journal that you were sanctioned for not hitting your agreed jobs target? <strong>Michael</strong>: Yes I did. <strong>Work coach</strong>: That means you will not be receiving this month's payment for Universal Credit. However, I do have a job that suits your skillset. <strong>Michael</strong>: What is it? <strong>Work coach</strong>: Working in a factory as a factory worker. <h4>[[Next... -> Take the job interview?]]</h4> <h4>[[Next... -> Decline the job interview?]]</h4>

<strong>Work coach</strong>: I'm afraid the sanction for Universal Credit stays. Michael accepts the result and is resigned to having no money to live on for the next month. <strong>Michael</strong>: Looks like I'll be living off ramen noodles for the next 30 days then. The cost of being a digital member of society is too much of a burden for Michael who sadly after his appointment at the job centre has life taken away by a gang of young boys. <h4>[[The end of the game]]</h4>

<strong>Michael</strong>: I'm going to take the offer for this interview for the job at the factory. <strong>Work coach</strong>: Great, I'll call up the employer now. 10 minutes later after accepting the job interview for the job... <strong>Work coach</strong>: The interview for the job at the factory is this afternoon at 1pm Michael. <strong>Michael</strong>: It's short notice, but I'll take it thank you. <strong>Work coach</strong>: Good luck, let's hope today is the day you get a job. <h4>[[Continued... -> The job interview]]</h4>

It's two hours before the interview for the job at the factory and Michael has already had lunch and is heading to the factory for his interview. <strong>Michael</strong>: I'm nervous about this interview as it's the first one I have had in so long. The time is now 12:45pm as Michael switches his phone off and heads into the factory for his job interview. <h4>[[Time for the interview]]</h4>

The interviewer calls out Michael's name and he comes into the interview room for the job role at the factory. I see you have been working as a chef, what makes you well suited for working in a factory, asks the interviewer? <strong>Michael</strong>: Working in under pressure environments have always played to my strengths. In my previous job, I used to have to cook on many occasions up to 100 guests at the time, requiring maximum concentration and teamwork to get the meals served. This means making sure every dish I served to a customer was perfect and with this job as a factory worker, I would use the skills I had acquired from working in hospitality for five years and apply this into the products the company makes in the factory. As the interview continues, the interviewee is so impressed with Michael that the interviewer makes an offer that he cannot refuse... <h4>[[Next...->The job offer]]</h4>

After half an hour, the interview ends and the interviewer is so impressed with Michael that he decides to offer him the factory worker job on the spot. <strong>Michael</strong>: I would be more than happy to accept the job offer of working in a factory thank you. When Michael accepts the job offer to work in the factory, he is told by the interviewer that he starts the job tomorrow. One handshake later ends months of digital exclusion for Michael, who leaves the factory in a good mood knowing he is not unemployed anymore. <strong>Michael</strong>: Being able to earn money, talk to my friends online and get a new laptop after my old one broke down two years ago is the best feeling in the world. I feel like I've got my life back on the right track again. Two months later, Michael is still working as a factory worker and is on the verge of being rewarded with a promotion by his manager for the work he's doing at the factory. Despite many obstacles put in his way, Michael puts his year of digital exclusion behind him to start a new life as a digital member of society. <h4>[[The end of the game]]</h4>