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Digital divide

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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 others 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 (white/minority), 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.[1][2] The term came into regular usage in the mid-1990s. President of the United States Bill Clinton and his Vice President Al Gore used the term in a 1996 speech in Knoxville,[3] though the term had appeared in several news articles and political speeches as early as 1995.[4] 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 1990s NTIA surveys (1995), [http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/ (1999) were “catalysts for the popularity, ubiquity, and redefinition” of the term, and he used the term in a series of later reports.[4]

Current usage

As with many general concepts, there are various definitions of the term "digital divide". According to Bharat Mehra (2004), the digital divide is “the troubling gap between those who use computers and the internet and those who do not”.[5]

The term had a moving target: it initially referred to the ownership of a computer, but later referred to access to the Internet. More recently it has centered on broadband network access.[2] In more recent usage, 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.[6]

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 are portrayed to be technophobic charity cases that lack the desire to adopt new technologies on their own.[7]

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".[8] Also as stated 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”.[5]

Digital divide and education

One area of significant focus was school computer access; in the 1990s, rich schools were much more likely to provide their students with regular computer access. In the late 1990s, rich schools were much more likely to have internet access.[citation needed] In the context of schools, which have consistently been involved in the discussion of the divide, current formulations of the divide focus more on how (and whether) computers are used by students, and less on whether there are computers or internet connections.[citation needed]

The E-rate program (officially the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund), authorized in 1996 and implemented in 1997, directly addressed the technology gap between rich and poor schools by allocating money from telecommunications taxes to poor schools without technology resources. Though the program faced criticism and controversy in its methods of disbursement, it did provide over 100,000 schools with additional computing resources, and internet connectivity.[citation needed]

Recently, discussions of a digital divide in school access have broadened to include technology related skills and training in addition to basic access to computers and internet access.[citation needed]

Global digital divide

Main article: Global digital divide
File:1 GC0 Maps set 3.0 digitaldivide.png
Digital Divide Cartogram

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 cannot 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.[9][page needed] 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”.[10] 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,[11] 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 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 is not 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.[12] Digital divide is a common subject in US politics and various government policies.

Digital divide, e-democracy and e-governance

Main articles: 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.[13] There is, as yet, no consensus among scholars about the possible outcomes of this revolution;[13] it has so far shown promise in improving electoral administration and reducing fraud and disenfranchisement; particularly positive has been the reception of e-government services related to online delivery of government services, with portals (such as United States USA.gov) used as intermediaries between the government and the citizen, replacing the need for people to queue in traditional offices.[14]

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 is 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.[14]

Overcoming the digital divide

Technology offers a unique opportunity to extend learning support beyond the classroom, something that has been difficult to do until now. “The variety of functions that the internet can serve for the individual user makes it “unprecedentedly malleable” to the user’s current needs and purposes”.[15] The existence of a digital divide, however, means that millions of children are currently denied this opportunity to extend their learning. Recognition of digital divide as an immense problem has led scholars, policy makers, and the public to understand the “potential of the internet to improve everyday life for those on the margins of society and to achieve greater social equity and empowerment”.[5]

The OLPC XO-1 is an inexpensive laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries around the world,[16] to provide them with access to knowledge. The laptop is developed by the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) social welfare organization.

In an attempt to bridge this digital divide, a pact 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, but, unfortunately, their lack of knowledge in using such equipment caused such equipment to go unused for over a year, losing a third of its economic value. Although it was an unsuccessful attempt to bridge this divide, it shows that there is progress attempting to be made as Mark Warschauer wrote in his article "Reconceptualizing the Digital Divide".[17]

Many proponents[who?] of the open content, free software, and open access movements believe that these movements help equalize access to digital tools and information. Projects like One Laptop per Child and 50x15 offer a partial solution to the global digital divide; these projects tend to rely heavily upon open standards and free open source software. 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.[18]

Additional participants in this endeavor include the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development and the Digital Alliance Foundation.[19][20] 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”.[21]

Yet another solution is to try to better understand the lifestyle of a minority or marginalized community.[22] In doing this researchers can figure out “what is meaningful to them [minorities and marginalized users] and how they use (or do not use) different forms of the internet for meeting their objectives”.[23] 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”.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

In his book Digital Nation, Anthony G. Wilhelm calls on politicians to develop a national ICT agenda.[6]

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.[24]

Criticism

The existence of a digital divide is not universally recognized. Compaine (2001) argues it is 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 will not 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".[2]

See also

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: The Information Age
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Information and Communication Technologies for Poverty Alleviation
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Internet Governance

Relevant Organizations

Studies, Reports and Articles

Scholarly Literature

Research Projects

Footnotes

  1. ^ Carrie Bickner, Down By Law. Retrieved on 22 November 2007
  2. ^ a b c Compaine, The Digital Divide, Preface, p. xi-xvi
  3. ^ Clinton Presidential Center, Remarks by President and VP in Knoxville TN
  4. ^ a b Kate Williams, What is the digital divide?, working paper, University of Michigan, 2001
  5. ^ a b c Mehra et al, 2004, p.782
  6. ^ a b Anthony G. Wilhelm, Digital Nation: Towards an inclusive information society, MIT Press, 2004, ISBN 0262232383, p.133-134
  7. ^ Young, 2001 p.1
  8. ^ Lisa Servon, 2002, p.2
  9. ^ Cheung, 2004 [page needed]
  10. ^ Cheung, 2004, p.63
  11. ^ The digital divide in Europe, Eurostat, Statistics in Focus, Issue number 38/2005
  12. ^ Horrigan and Smith, Home Broadband Adoption 2007 Report
  13. ^ a b See various papers collected in Peter Shane, Democracy Online: The Prospects for Political Renewal Through the Internet, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0415948657
  14. ^ a b Kieron O'Hara, David Stevens, Inequality.com], 2006, Oneworld, ISBN 1851684506, p.300-301
  15. ^ Bargh & McKenna, 2001, p. 577
  16. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7006316.stm
  17. ^ http://itrs.scu.edu/klong/warschauer.pdf
  18. ^ Stallman, 2006 speech transcript
  19. ^ http://www.un-gaid.org
  20. ^ http://www.ictefa.org
  21. ^ Mehra et al, 2004, p.787
  22. ^ Mehra et al, 2004 (page needed)
  23. ^ Mehra et al, 2004, p.799
  24. ^ 17 May - World Information Society Day. From portal.unesco.org. Retrieved on 23 November 2007]

References

  • Bargh, John A.; McKenna, Katelyn Y.A. (2004), "The Internet and Social Life", Annual Review of Psychology, 55: 573–90
  • "REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AND THE VICE PRESIDENT TO THE PEOPLE OF KNOXVILLE". Clinton Presidential Center (clintonpresidentialcenter.org). October 10, 1996. Retrieved 2007-10-27. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  • Cheung, Charles (2004), "Identity construction and self-presentation on personal homepages: Emancipatory potentials and reality constraints", Web Studies, New York: Oxford: In D. Guantlett & R. Horsley (Eds.), pp. 53–68
  • Compaine, Benjamin M. (ed.) (2001), The Digital Divide: Facing a Crisis or Creating a Myth?, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, ISBN 0262531933 {{citation}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  • Horrigan, John B. and Aaron Smith. "Home Broadband Adoption 2007 Report" (PDF). Pew Internet & American Life. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  • Mehra, Bharat; Merkel, Cecelia; Bishop, Ann P. (2004), "The internet for empowerment of minority and marginalized users", New Media and Society, 6: 781–802
  • Servon, Lisa (2002), Bridging the Digital Divide: Technology, Community, and Public Policy, Malden, MA: Blackwell, ISBN 0-631-23242-7
  • Stallman, Richard (06 October 2006). "Transcript of Richard Stallman's speech at World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS) on "Is Free/Open Source Software the Answer?"". Fellowship of Free Software Foundation Europe. Retrieved 2007-10-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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