Clicking on Users’ Behalf: How Intermediaries Enable Engagement with Digital Services

Under the premises of efficiency and cost savings, service providers are increasingly going digital. As a consequence, underserved groups experience digital services as an additional barrier to participating in society. To overcome those barriers, many rely on often-invisible support networks, including family or friends, as well as governmental organisations and NGOs. In this article, we draw on qualitative studies of two NGOs, one based in Helsinki and the other in Lisbon, to reflect on the work they do to support people who use digital services. Our findings show that intermediaries support them in at least three interrelated ways. First, through complementary practices such as teaching and advising, configuring spaces to lower engagement thresholds, and translating complex information. Second, by participating on behalf of users, for instance, when contacting service providers or acting as proxies in design processes. Third, by sustaining the efficiency of digital services through invisible work. We contribute to research on digital inclusion by showing how intermediaries shape both access to and users' agency in digital services.