Everything about Digital Divide totally explained
The term
digital divide refers to the gap between those people with effective access to
digital and
information technology and those without access to it. It includes the imbalances in physical access to
technology as well as the imbalances in resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a
digital citizen. In other words, it’s the unequal access by some members of the
society to
information and communications technology, and the unequal acquisition of related skills. Groups often discussed in the context of a digital divide include socioeconomic (rich/poor), racial (majority/minority), generational (young/old) or geographical (urban/rural). The term
global digital divide refers to differences in technology access between countries.
Origins of the term
The term initially referred to gaps in ownership of computers between groups. though the term had appeared in several news articles and political speeches as early as 1995.
Larry Irving, a former
United States head of the
National Telecommunications Infrastructure Administration (NTIA) at the
Department of Commerce, Assistant
Secretary of Commerce and technology adviser to the
Clinton Administration, noted that a series of NTIA surveys
(1995)
,
(1998),
(1999), and
(2000) were “catalysts for the popularity, ubiquity, and redefinition” of the term, and he used the term in a series of later reports.
The term initially referred to gaps in the ownership of, or regular access to, a computer. As Internet access came to be seen as a central aspect of computing, the term's usage shifted to encompass gaps in not just computers but also access to the Internet. Recently, some have used the term to refer to gaps in
broadband network access. The term can mean not only unequal access to
computer hardware, but also inequalities between groups of people in the ability to use
information technology fully.
Due to the range of criteria which can be used to assess the imbalance, and the lack of detailed data on some aspects of technology usage, the exact nature of the digital divide is both contextual and debatable. Criteria often used to distinguish between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' of the digital divide tend to focus on access to hardware, access to the internet, and details relating to both categories. Some scholars fear that these discussions might be discouraging the creation of Internet content that addresses the needs of minority groups that make up the "have nots," as they're portrayed to be technophobic charity cases that lack the desire to adopt new technologies on their own.
The discussion on digital divide often are tied with other concepts. Lisa Servon argued in 2002 that the digital divide "is a symptom of a larger and more complex problem -- the problem of persistent poverty and inequality". As described by Mehra (2004), the four major components that contribute to digital divide are “socioeconomic status, with income, educational level, and race among other factors associated with technological attainment”.
Global digital divide
Another key dimension of the digital divide is the
global digital divide, reflecting existing economic divisions in the world. This global digital divide widens the gap in economic divisions around the world. Countries with a wide availability of internet access can advance the economics of that country on a local and global scale. In today's society, jobs and education are directly related to the internet. In countries where the internet and other technologies are not accessible, education is suffering, and uneducated people can't compete in the
global economy. This leads to
poor countries suffering greater economic downfall and richer countries advancing their education and economy. However, when dealing with the global aspect of digital divide there are several factors that lead to digital divide. For example, country of residence,
ethnicity,
gender, age, educational attainment, and
income levels are all factors of the global aspects of digital divide. In addition, a survey shows that in 15
Western European countries females, manual workers, elderly, and the less educated have less internet access than males, professional, the young, and the well educated”. The digital divide is a term used to refer to the gap between people who have access to the internet and those that do not. It can also refer to the skills people have – the divide between peoples who are at ease using technology to access and analyse information and those who are not.
Digital divide worldwide
» China: see Digital divide in the People's Republic of China
» Europe:
European Union study from 2005 conduced in 14 European countries and focused on the issue of digital divide found that within the EU, the digital divide is primarily a matter of age and education. Among the young or educated the proportion of computer or Internet users is much higher than with the old or uneducated. Digital divide is also higher in rural areas. The study found that the presence of children in a household increases the chance of having a computer or Internet access, and that small businesses are catching up with larger enterprises when it comes to Internet access. The study also notes that "Despite increasing levels of ICT usage in all sections of society, the divide isn't being bridged."
» United States: According to a July 2007 Pew Internet & American Life report, "47% of Americans have a broadband connection at home," an increase of 5% in one year. Digital divide is a common subject in US politics and various government policies
Digital divide, e-democracy and e-governance
The theoretical concepts of
e-democracy are still in early development, but many scholars agree that
blogs (web logs),
wikis and
mailing lists may have significant effects in broadening the way democracy operates. There is, as yet, no consensus among scholars about the possible outcomes of this revolution;
One of the main problems associated with the digital divide as applied to a
liberal democracy is the capacity to participate in the new
public space, the
cyberspace - as in the extreme case, exclusively computer-based democratic participation (
deliberation forums,
online voting, etc) could mean that no access meant no vote. Therefore, there's a risk that some social groups - those without adequate access to or knowledge of IT - will be under-represented (or others over-represented) in the policy formation processes and this would be incompatible with the equality principles of
democracy. to provide them with
access to knowledge. Programmer and
free software advocate
Richard Stallman has highlighted the importance of free software among groups concerned with the digital divide such as the
World Summit on the Information Society.
Organizations such as
Geekcorps,
EduVision and
Inveneo also help to overcome the digital divide. They often do so through the use of education systems that draw on
information technology. The technology they employ often includes
low-cost laptops/
subnotebooks, handhelds (eg
Simputer, E-slate, ...), tablet PCs, Mini-ITX PCs and low-cost
WiFi-extending technology as
cantennas and
WokFis . In addition, other information technology material usable in the classroom can also be made
diy to lower expenses. This includes
projectors, ...
In
Digital Nation, Anthony G. Wilhelm calls on politicians to develop a national ICT agenda. In doing this, researchers can figure out “what is meaningful to them [minoritiesand marginalized users] and how they use (or don't use) different forms of the internet for meeting their objectives”. Furthermore, “a need for a re-examination of questions based on traditional ways of looking at people, their social dynamics, and their interactions with technology”. Additionally, “One strategy is to transfer goal-setting, decision making, and choice-determining processes into the hands of the disadvantaged users in order that they ‘fit’ internet into their daily lives in ways that they themselves consider to be meaningful”.
International cooperation between governments have begun, aiming at dealing with the global digital divide. For example, in an attempt to bridge this digital divide, an agreement between the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the
Egyptian government emerged. The USAID funded state-of-the-art equipment for
Egyptian education, their brilliance of knowledge in using such equipment caused such equipment to increase in use throughout the years. Now, Egyptian society is more computer literate and knowledgeable about computers than they used to be. Nonetheless it's a sign of progress that such attempts at bridging the digital divide are seriously being made. Additional participants in such endeavors include the United Nations
Global Alliance for ICT and Development and the
Digital alliance Foundation.
The
United Nations is aiming to raise awareness of the divide by way of the
World Information Society Day which takes place yearly on
May 17.
Criticism
The existence of a digital divide isn't universally recognized. Compaine (2001) argues it's a
perceived gap. Technology gaps are relatively transient; hence the digital divide should soon disappear in any case. The knowledge of computers will become less important as they get smarter and easier to use. In the future people won't need high-tech skills to access the Internet and participate in
e-commerce or
e-democracy. Thus Compaine argues that a digital divide "is not the issue to expend substantial amounts or funds nor political capital".
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