The Conception of Digital Divide - Essay Example

Introduction The term 'digital divide' appears as a concern of eminent importance in the context of an information society. The widening gap betweenthe richest and poorest nations across the globe, now also encompasses the access or non-access to knowledge and information in different parts of the world. This paper provides an insightful study of the 'digital divide' that highlights the 'information poverty' existing in the third world countries. The study also identifies various social, economic, and political factors that establish or reinforce the discrepancies concerning availability and usage of information in different nations. It also highlights the major issues confronting these underdeveloped nations and the current developments thereof in the pursuit of creating an information society. The Digital Divide The rapid dispersion of information and communication technologies is gradually transforming the world into an information society that is unbounded in terms of access to knowledge and communication facilities. In this regard, it is very crucial for any country to provide its people with the required knowledge and make possible an equal access to information and communication technologies so as to take an active part in the information revolution. The most significant concern within this perspective is the prevailing discrepancy as to the availability, access and usage of technology around the world, which deprives human being of their ultimate right to knowledge. Cullen (2001, p311) illuminates that, "the 'digital divide' has become a convenient metaphor to describe the perceived disadvantage of those who either are unable or do not choose to make use of these technologies in their daily life". This information poverty existing among and even within countries tends to be the most serious concern for today's information society. The world is diverse with regard to geographical, cultural, economic and social patterns. Selwyn (2004, p355) elaborates that, "many of the differences that the digital divide pertains towards can be traced back to clear differentiation in the technological capital i.e. fundamental differences in the cultural, economic and social resources that individuals and communities can command when engaging with technology". Hence, all these aspects happen to play a distinct role in the dispersion and availability of knowledge and technology in different parts of the world. The most eminent of the 'digital divide' remains to be the one that exists between the developed and underdeveloped countries characterised by a wide gap in all these 'socio-economic' aspects. Selwyn (2004, p345) connote that, "the digital divide is a marked feature of any information society". The digital divide across the globe occurs due to the "socio-economic, technological and linguistic" discrepancies prevailing among nations and societies. Also, the differences vis--vis the education and skills required to avail the information technology mark a wide range of global inequality. The knowledge of English language in several parts of the world is also considered crucial for being able to use the Internet. In this context, there happen to be significant variation concerning Internet usage and information access between developed and underdeveloped countries of the world. For instance, the rate of Internet access in Italy is the lowermost as compared to any other country in the developed world; however, it is still much higher than that of some developing countries such as China (Chen and Wellman, 2004). The Information Society And Third World Countries Third world countries, especially the least developed ones, have highly restrained access to the information technology. Ogunsola and Okusaga (2006, p349) says that, "in many parts of the developing countries ICT is available only on a very limited scale, and this raises doubts about developing countries' ability to participate in the current ICT-induced global knowledge economy". These countries mostly falling under the domains of Africa, South Asia and Latin America are unable to provide their people with the necessary knowledge and information that is dreaded to keep these countries behind in the global information revolution. The 'digital divide' that exists between the advanced and third world countries of the world seems to be a major indication of social and economic variations existing in different countries of the world. These differences appear "in terms of socio-economic status and income, access to technologies such as home computers, the internet and digital television appears to be patterned in terms of gender, age and composition of household" (Selwyn, 2004, p344). For instance, income level in the least developed regions of Africa is far lower than that of the advanced countries such as USA and Canada. Apart from that, third world countries also suffer from social and cultural barriers to information access that appear in the form of gender and age based bias. Lack of awareness in the undeveloped countries also happens to be a major cause underlying the information poverty. "Inequalities in access to the Internet internationally reflect the long-standing bifurcation between the First and Third Worlds" (Warf, 2001, p6-7). These inequalities exist mainly because of lack of infrastructure and cost effective technology the third world countries to promote an inexpensive diffusion of information in the society. Hence, in less developed nations of the world, the cost underlying Internet connection, telephone access and mobile charges are relatively higher than those of the developed countries. (Cullen, 2001, p317) adds that, "the irony of globalisation is that that smaller and less developed the nation and the lower the average national income, the higher telecommunication charges seem to be". These higher rates prevent people from accessing these facilities on a regular basis and thus widen the knowledge gap. Besides the economic and cultural reasons, the information inequality prevailing in the developing Asian countries also tend to be an outcome of political constraints. For instance, the Chinese government imposes restrictions on the Internet connections owing to some harsh political experiences of the 1989 Tienanmen Square massacre, and also does not allow the use of private satellite dishes in the country. In Singapore, the electronic information is regularly censored, banning the free flow of information (Warf, 2001). Even among the developing countries of the world, the digital divide exists. Countries that are more progressed are more wealth in terms of information technology, whereas countries with less development are doomed to confront also with a lack of information access and usage. For instance, among the developing countries of the Southeast Asia, the digital divide is wider among more progressed countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore etc and the less progressed ones such as Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar etc (Evers and Gerke, 2004). In case of Africa also, the information discrepancy exits between the Southern urban and Northern rural areas. The knowledge and information gap existing in the world can be illuminated with the help of this factual information. According to ITU (2004), the United States and Europe enjoy the highest rate of Internet access and usage accounting for 30.5% and 30.6% of world usage respectively, with the Asia-Pacific standing at 8.6% and the Africa at 1.8% of the total world connectivity. In 2003, Nigeria had an average of 1.3 Internet users per 100 of its population. In the North Africa, only 3.3 out of 100 people have access to and use Internet, which is much lower than the South Africa having an average of 7.1 Internet users per 100 persons (ITU, 2003). Provided the existing information poverty prevailing in the underdeveloped countries of the world, specific steps need to be taken on the part of the government. To close the digital divide, the underdeveloped countries first need to narrow the socio-economic gaps that continue to prevail in the society. Apart from that, clarification of strategies, policies and goals needs to be done so as to embed the developing nations into the information society along with the developed world (Chen and Wellman, 2004). Considering such low rates of information usage in Nigeria, the government is required to promote computer literacy and Internet awareness so as to enhance the access and availability of information to its citizens. "Computer access for all levels of the education system must be pivotal if Nigeria and other developing countries are not to be left out of the knowledge revolution that drives competitiveness in globalisation" (Ogunsola and Okusaga, 2006, p145). The dissemination of formal computer education along with the Internet skills is also useful for all the other developing countries in the pursuit of creating information awareness among people. Among all the third world countries, Africa happens to be the least fortunate one concerning the information access and usage. Ogunsola and Okusaga (2006, p140) propound that, "African countries are at the risk of being further marginalized if they fail to embrace these technologies to transform their economies". The African countries need attention directed towards the improvement of infrastructure, education and skill development. African countries would be unable to cope with the global information age unless the local markets are harnessed towards a consistent economic growth in the region. The technological and telecommunication industries also need to be developed through implementation of proper policies and strategies on the part of the government (Quaynor, Narku, 2000). ECA Economic Commission of Africa is currently pursuing to bridge the digital gap prevailing in the various parts of Africa. Digital libraries provide an eminent opportunity for African countries to access a wide range of information online and to emerge as an information society in future (Amonoo and Azubuike, 2005). Already in Africa, UNESCO and NEPAD are working to promote the availability of digital libraries, online information and Internet access in the African countries. Latin American countries also belong to the global stratum, which is marked by deep socio-economic diversity and regressive economic status of citizens. The Latin American countries are lagging behind the world with regard to the information and knowledge availability due to wide social and economic gaps, poverty, lack of education, high charges underlying Internet and telephone usage, and inability of people to comprehend English language (Williams and Bertino, 2001). However, the governments have constantly been looking for ways to improve the state of information technology in the region. The current developments in Latin America include an enhancement of information and communication facilities through mobile telephony and Internet. Albeit the usage of these technologies is lower in the region, the steps are being taken to bring them into the reach of everyone (ETSI, 2005). Conclusion This paper throws lights on the conception of 'digital divide' with respect to the third world countries and the major reasons underlying their information poverty. The less developed nations of the world such as parts of South Asia, Latin America and most importantly, the African countries seriously fall beyond the global race of information revolution. Countries like Latin America and Africa mainly fall prey of economic instability, low incomes, lack of education and awareness, social and political problems that further reinforce the information gap between the rich and poor countries. Provided the pre-eminence of information technology in enriching these countries' development, it is crucial to implement strategies to promote computer literacy and Internet skills at formal education levels. Major initiatives and policies are being undertaken in these underdeveloped countries, both at national and international stages, with a view to disseminate information and reduce the digital divide between countries. Albeit, at a slower pace, but these developments are expected to bring a positive change. 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