Beyond access: Understanding digital platform adoption in Indonesia's informal economy

This article argues that digital inclusion cannot be understood merely through the lens of access. Instead, the enabling environment is shaped by deeper and often invisible spatial, infrastructural, and algorithmic factors that determine who can participate in the platform economy. Focusing on online food delivery (OFD) services among street food vendors (SFVs) in Surakarta, Indonesia, this study examines how socio-demographic characteristics influence spatial unevenness and engagement with digital infrastructures. Drawing on a cross-sectional survey of 335 vendors, the research combines the Diffusion of Innovation theory with insights from critical digital geography to move beyond access-based interpretations. The results show that OFD adoption is more prevalent among younger, male vendors operating in city center areas with stronger digital infrastructure and delivery networks. In contrast, older vendors in suburban areas face barriers such as limited digital literacy, inadequate infrastructure, and algorithmic invisibility. Digital platforms, therefore, not only provide access but also define their boundaries—determining who participates, under what conditions, and for whose benefit. Policies promoting digital inclusion must therefore go beyond access and training to address infrastructural inequality, strengthen digital connectivity in peripheral areas, enhance practical digital literacy among women and older vendors, and promote transparency in platform algorithms that affect vendor visibility. By revealing how the platform economy reproduces spatial and social divides, this study advances the debate on digital justice and spatial inequality in the Global South.