Digital Divide
: the gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the Internet, and those who do not.
The digital divide exists between those typically in cities and those in rural areas; between the educated and the uneducated; between socioeconomic groups; and, globally, between the more and less industrially developed nations. Even among some populations with access to technology, the digital divide can be evident in the form of lower-performance computers, lower-speed wireless connections, lower-priced connections such as dial-up, and limited access to subscription-based content.
The Digital Divide, ICT, | |
The Digital Divide, or the digital split, is a social issue referring to the differing amount of information between those who have access to the Internet (specially broadband access) and those who do not have access. The term became popular among the concerned parties, such as scholars, policy makers, and advocacy groups, in the late 1990's . Dimensions of the Divide The major arguments are the following: 1. Economic equalitySome think that the access to the Internet is a basic component of civil life that some developed countries aim to guarantee for their citizens. Telephone is often considered important for security reasons. Health, criminal, and other types of emergencies might indeed be better handled if the person in trouble has an access to the telephone. Another important fact seems to be that much vital information for people's career, civic life, safety, etc. are increasingly provided via the Internet. Even social welfare services are sometimes offered and administered electronically. Some believe that computers and computer networks play an increasingly important role in their career and learning, so that education should include that of computing and use of the Internet. Without such offerings, the existing digital divide unfairly works to the children in the lower socioeconomic status. In order to provide equal opportunities, governments might offer some form of support. Some think that the use of the Internet would lead to a healthier democracy in one way or another. Among the most ambitious visions that are of increased public participation in elections and decision making processes. Some think that the development of information infrastructure and active use of it would be a shortcut to economic growth for less developed nations. Information technologies in general tend to be associated with productivity improvements. The exploitation of the latest technologies with industries of certain countries give a competitive advantage. Rural areas access The accessibility of rural areas to the Internet is a test of the digital divide. But nowadays there are different ways to eliminate the digital divide in rural areas. Use of Power lines (PLT and PLC) and satellite communications offer new possibilities of universal access to the Internet, and lack of telephone lines will not limit access. Lower access prices are required to bridge the ICT divide. Disabilities
Disabilities of potential Internet users constitute another type of divide and care should be taken to avoid that persons with disabilities be left out of Internet access.
Digital Divide: The Technology Gap between the Rich and Poor Even as technology becomes more affordable and internet access seems increasingly ubiquitous, a "digital divide" between rich and poor remains. The rich and educated are still more likely than others to have good access to digital resources according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The digital divide has far-reaching consequences, especially when it comes to education. For children in low-income school districts, inadequate access to technology can hinder them from learning the tech skills that are crucial to success in today's economy. According to the 2012 Pew Report "Digital Differences," only 62% of people in households making less than $ 30,000 a year used the internet, while those making $ 50,000 to 74,999 in that percentage jumped to 90. Smart phones have helped bridge the divide, as they provide internet access to populations previously and a digital disadvantage. Pew reports that, our smart phone owners, "young adults, minorities, those with no college experience, and those with lower household income levels" are more likely to access the Internet primarily through their phones. |
What is the digital divide?
If you ask most people to define the digital divide , most of them would answer that it has to do with those who have access to technology and those who do not. Ten years ago, they would have been right. However, over the last ten years access to technology has become more and more ubiquitous. In fact, in a 2010 Pew study ( Technology Trends Among People of Color ), laptop ownership among African Americans and whites broke about even, and the percentage of Hispanic and African American Internet users, which was 11 percent in 2000, rose to 21 percent in 2010. A 2011 study showed that 83 percent of American adults own a cell phone ( Americans and Their cell phones ). Recent advances in cell phone technology mean that more and more people are using their phones to access the internet. As a result, many previously unconnected populations are connected through their phones. In fact, another Pew study ( "For minorities, new 'digital divide' seen" ) reported that 51 percent of Hispanics, 46 percent of African Americans, and only 33 percent of whites used their phones to access the Internet.
So what does this all mean?
We are looking at a completely different kind of divide. While access has increased substantially, the kind of access varies. Most minorities in the Pew studies reported using their phones for accessing email and the Internet. In 2010 only 56 percent of African American households reported having broadband access compared to 67 percent of white households ( Home Broadband 2010 ). This creates an entertainment Vs. empowerment divide. As one of the Pew studies suggests, you can not fill out a job application through a cell phone or update your résumé on a game console (another way that many minorities report that they access the Internet). The divide has shifted from an access issue to a kind of access divide.
Most of the reports about the digital divide centers around racial and socio-economic differences (a 2010 study confirmed that household income is the greatest predictor of Internet use ). However, for those families in rural areas, access is still the number one issue. In a study of groups and organizations and their use of technology, farm organizations were reportedly one of three groups for whom tech does not dominate at all. In addition, there are still 4 percent of teens reporting that they have no Internet or computer at home.
What are some solutions?
As the studies suggest, the problem is not access, it's the kind of access. Families, particularly minority families, are lacking in the home broadband access. Just recently, Comcast launched Internet Essentials , a low-cost Internet service for families receiving free school lunches that is available wherever Comcast provides services. In addition, communities need to ensure that libraries stay open, schools can provide access to their labs after school, and organizations need to plan their communication strategies around the connection style of the populations they serve.
States also need to invest in broadband infrastructure to bring broadband services to rural households. Companies like Comcast could provide mobile labs that could visit communities in the same way bookmobiles used to travel the country.
Sadly, the dichotomy of haves and have nots is not going away any time soon, but as long as we understand what this divide looks like and how it evolves and changes, we can better address the underlying causes and provide resources for all US citizens , regardless of ethnicity, geography or socio-economic status.
The Europe 2020 Initiative
The Digital Divide can and should be made smaller. This idea has found eco in many
countries and organizations. One of the organizations that has taken an active and
leading role in this effort is the European Union, with the Europe 2020 initiative that
consists of a ten-year jobs and growth strategy for the EU.
The Europe 2020 Initiative
The Digital Divide can and should be made smaller. This idea has found eco in many
countries and organizations. One of the organizations that has taken an active and
leading role in this effort is the European Union, with the Europe 2020 initiative that
consists of a ten-year jobs and growth strategy for the EU.
DIGITAL DIVIDE
In the beginning, the Internet, and particularly the World Wide Web, was extolled as a powerful force toward the democratization of information and, ultimately, of politics and economics. This was the idealistic vision of the Web's founder, Tim Berners-Lee. By placing such a wealth of information and opportunity at individuals' fingertips, the Web, according to its most ardent supporters, was to act as the great societal leveler. While some aspects of that vision may have leaked through, most observers note that the technology has taken a very different course, and has led to what is popularly known as the digital divide.
Both inside the United States and on the global level, the gulf between those individuals, families, organizations, and businesses that enjoy access to the Internet and those that do not constitutes the digital divide. The seeming ubiquity of the Internet in U.S. culture in the early 2000s seemed to gloss over the lingering digital divide. Indeed, amidst the hype surrounding the New Economy, it became difficult for many Americans to recognize that the majority of the world's population had yet to make a phone call, much less log on to the Internet. And while the cost of personal computers and Internet software and access has inched downward since the mid-1990's, the digital divide persisted in various forms and with various implications.
MAPPING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Discussion of a gap between the Internet haves and have-not formally began with the publication of "Falling Through the Net," a report issued by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1995. At first associated primarily with racial disparities, the general tenor of the discourse gradually broadened to include a wider array and matrix of social indicators, particularly those related to class. New York-based Jupiter Communications found the greatest disparity in Internet usage to be along income—rather than racial—lines. While wealth distribution is very strongly correlated to race and ethnicity in the United States, analysis of the digital divide by the early 2000's tended to consider a more holistic analysis of inequalities.
The digital divide, according to some observers, isn't a qualitatively new phenomenon; rather, it is the extension of age-old inequalities and social discrepancies into the Information Age. Some sociologists viewed the digital divide as a modern extension of chronic unemployment and lack of access to basic social services. With financial transactions; social, political, and economic news; and, increasingly, the pace of social life moving at Internet speed, the digital divide carries the possibility of exacerbating the deep economic divisions existing in U.S. society.
ADDRESSING THE DIVIDE
An issue generating extremely mixed feelings was the level of responsibility companies feel, or should feel, in remediating the digital divide. According to an Information Week survey of 500 information-technology and business professionals, direct business involvement in addressing the digital divide was far from standard. While 77 percent of the respondents registered personal concern with the digital divide, only one-third reported that their companies maintained programs to enhance computer access in their communities. There were pragmatic reasons why companies might choose to help bridge the divide. For instance, running or sponsoring educational programs in conjunction with local schools or training institutes can provide a source of income and help nurture strong links between the company and the community. Moreover, offering space for learning computer skills can contribute to the supply of skilled computer workers.
THE GLOBAL DIVIDE
The global dynamics of Internet access were expected to undergo some drastic changes through the first decade of the 21st century. While the United States and other western countries led the way in access at the start of the decade, by 2010 the two largest Internet user communities were likely to be China and India, as Internet availability begins to catch up to those countries' populations.
In booming Internet markets, such as Asia, internal disparities play a significant role as well. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in its report Asian Development Outlook 2000, cautioned against the long-term effects of the limited and uneven development of information technology in the region, noting that, absent the adequate physical and network infrastructure, underdeveloped countries and communities of Asia risked being left even further behind their more developed neighbors when the Internet-based economy really takes hold.
THE DIGITAL DIVIDE – THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE WORLD WIDE WEB
The internet represents a world without boundaries, a digital domain both removed from and parallel to our own, where data of any kind can be discovered, downloaded or mail-ordered, and every desire, carnal or platonic, and interest is catered to at the push of a button. From its Cold War origins to the internet boom of the nineties, the World Wide Web has also been feared by those who are ignorant to what the net can offer, or are well aware.
The Web has presented us with a comprehensible online library, a decentralised data resource that via internet hunt engines, such as Google and Yahoo!, offers instant way to a vast estimate of information. Increased bandwidth capacity has made way to digital media, such as Mp3s and video files, convenient and fast, and also brought about a confident preservation of digital information, a good example being Rom emulation, the copied images of retro video games that would no longer be ready to the collective surface of unauthorized distribution.
In the industrialised world, the Web has brought about the growth of a new form of journalism, and a free time of speech unattainable straight through other mediums. The growth of weblogs/blogs, forums, newsletters and personal homepages has presented the user with an affordable way to voice their own concerns, views and interests. Unlike original magazines and newspapers, internet sites can survive without finances, and can gift petition to a niche shop without marketing concerns. Online, every user can have their say; regardless of either it is accurate, valid, or worth reading.
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento