Judul: “Transformation and Rural Digital Welfare; A Comparative Study of Coastal and Mountainous Villages in Banyuwangi Regency”.
Abstrak: Banyuwangi Regency is a lagging area before the entry of digital technology. The poverty rate in the village is quite high and difficult to access transportation. Along with the entry of the Industrial era 4.0 villages experienced poverty a second time in the form of information asymmetry, namely digital poverty or digital poverty. Since the enactment of Village Law No. 6 of 2014, regional leaders have immediately taken innovative steps to transform traditional villages into digital villages. The transformation was carried out through the provision of an online public service called 'Smart Kampung'. The existence of transformation inequality by local governments creates a digital divide among technology beneficiaries. The transformation presented to the village has not been accompanied by good information and digital literacy, so many villagers have not been able to take advantage of it. Digital technology intervention in villages needs to be maximized in order to improve welfare and become a new social capital for sustainable village development. Thus this research aims to; 1) analyze the direction and process of transforming non-digital villages into digital villages in the highland and coastal countryside of Banyuwangi Regency; 2) analyze the use of digital technologies that affect changes in socio-economic status, culture , and welfare of rural communities highlands and coastal areas of Banyuwangi Regency; 3) identify driving agents for the transformation of non-digital villages towards digital villages, and 4) formulate development sustainability ddigital technology that is able to encourage increased productivity of the village economy. This research uses qualitative methods assisted by quantitative data and data collection conducted through surveys, observations, interviews, and focus group discussions. In addition, secondary data collection is also obtained through literature studies and accompanying documentation. The research was conducted in two villages with different ecologies, namely Tamansari highland villages, Licin district, and Ketapang coastal village, Kalipuro district, Banyuwangi regency. The research began on November 20, 2019, and ended on October 25, 2020. Based on the results of research, digital technology interventions in villages have succeeded in changing the lives of rural communities from traditional to digital-based communities. The change resulted in an increase in the welfare of rural communities by 20.37%. The change of the public service system to online has been able to increase the effectiveness of work up to 50 times. Marketing local products through the Facebook social media network is known to be able to increase income while increasing the digital capabilities of citizens in using digital technology devices. Thus, the village has succeeded in reducing the gap in basic digital. The use of digital technology in the village is influenced by the diversity of access and ownership of devices, in addition to demographic social conditions. In contrast, geographical conditions do not affect the intervention of digital technology in the village due to its borderless and timeless nature. Research reveals that the community group of Smartphone device users has a higher level of well-being than the group. Therefore, the diversity of access and devices affects a person's digital ability to utilize digital technology. Research reveals that the use of digital technology affects the diversity
Keyword: Agent of Change, Digital Technology, Gemeinschaft, Smart Kampung, Social Transformation