# Precarious Experiences: Citizens' Frustrations, Anxieties and Burdens of an Online Welfare Benefit System

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.08515 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.08515/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 14 May 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [FormBharo: Designing and Evaluating a Voice Agent for Conversational Form Filling in Rural India](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.06027/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

There is a significant overlap between people who are supported by income-related social welfare benefits, often in precarious situations, and those who experience greater digital exclusion. We report on a study of claimants using the UK's Universal Credit online welfare benefit system designed as, and still, "digital by default". Through data collection involving remote interviews (n=11) and online surveys (n=66), we expose claimants' own lived experiences interacting with this system. The claimants explain how digital channels can contribute to an imbalance of power and agency, at a time when their own circumstances mean they have reduced abilities, resources and capacities, and where design choices can adversely affect people's utility to leverage help from their own wider socio-technical ecosystems. We contribute eight recommendations from these accounts to inform the future design and development of digital welfare benefit systems for this population, to reduce digital barriers and harms.