Numérisation des services d’intérêt général et représentation des usagers minorisés

Abstract

The article examines the forms of representation of user groups categorized as minority during the process of designing digital services of general interest in Belgium. It is based on a theoretical approach at the crossroads of the sociology of digital social inequalities and feminist studies in the sociology of science & technology. It analyses the modalities of representation of minority publics and their effective ability to influence the design process in a more inclusive way. The results reveal the ambivalence of participatory process in relation to the recognition of minority users’ perspectives. Their involvement is not aimed at questioning the relevance and usefulness of the future service intended for them but at improving the efficiency of its operating modes. The analysis shows that these participatory processes contribute above all to promoting the social acceptability of digital services among people who are far removed from them in a logic of governmentality of behaviours.

Keywords

• digitalization
• services of general interest
• minority users
• participatory process governmentality