What Is the Digital Divide - Essay Example

What is the Digital Divide? Our society is often divided into groups that represent either divisions in economic status, social status, or moral status. The most commonly known division is that of the haves and have nots under the economic divide, as the term has come to be known. While everyone is paying attention to the great economic divide debate, a new form of division has slowly emerged within a global context. That of the digital divide. Since the digital divide is something that is relatively knew to sociologists and economics alike, this paper will concentrate on presenting an introduction the digital divide. What does it mean? How did it happen? Does it have any positive or negative effect on our society? What benefits can be had from promoting a digital divide? Should the digital divide be promoted within our society as something that should be supported or not supported? These are but a few of the questions that I am looking forward to answering within the next few pages. I would like to start off this paper by presenting the readers with a basic discussion of the digital divide and its meaning. While the economic divide pertains the method by which the people of the world are separated by the amount of money that they have, the digital divide separates people in terms of their existing or non-existing access to the internet and other forms of communication technology. According to experts, the digital divide exists as a barrier between the urban and rural areas (Rouse, 2005). Upon closer inspection, one will come to the realization that the digital divide, also known as the digital split, refers not only to the people who have easy access to the internet and those who dont, but also among those who have or dont have access to information and communications technology. The term digital divide was then coined, in the 1990s in order to help explain the complex scenario. Due to the globalized market that exists between countries, the presence of the internet and other forms of telecommunication that can help ease the transfer of business information has become one of the utmost important business tools in our era. However, not all countries have state of the art information and communication technology infrastructures in place so the digital divide has already gone beyond borders, thus creating what is now known as the Global Digital Divide. Therefore, the digital divide is not limited to the social or economic statues of people alone. It also includes the members of society who use almost obsolete computers on infantile internet technology to keep in touch with business associates locally and abroad. These are the people and business owners who are affected by the great digital divide. However, this gap is slowly being closed as countries now spend on the improvement of their internet and telecommunications infrastructure in order to entice more investors into their country (“The Digital Divide, ICT and the 50X15 Initiative”). Due to the fact that the preferred mode of business these days always has to do with instant communication and access, it has become quite difficult for lower income bracket countries such as the Third World countries, to keep up with their increasingly information communications technologies reliant counterparts. Thus the digital divide can be seen as a method by which a particular country becomes handicapped in the economics game. Yet we seem to either not are, or know what to do about it. Socially, the digital divide is being driven by the economics of owning a computer, mobile phone, tablet, etc. Reports have been found to indicate that ; “... blacks and Latinos are much less likely to have access to home computers than white or non-Latinos (50.6 of Blacks and 48.7 percent of Latinos compared to 75.6 percent of Non-Latinos). Similarly, blacks and Latinos are also less likely to have any Internet access in their homes. In contrast, Asians have been found to have home computer and Internet access rates higher than that of white and non-Latinos.” (Careaga, C. “Digital Divide”). While the first thing that might strike a person who reads this information is that the digital divide is caused by economic disparity, it will turn out that they are only partially right. That is because Blacks and Latinos have traditionally not had a computer at home when compared to the whites. Most likely because it is harder for them to afford the equipment. One of the reasons that this situation exists is because the the Blacks and Latinos tend to have a lower level of education in relation to their family income. Thus fuelling the digital divide on a localized basis. And that is precisely why the digital divide should become a matter of great concern among the globalized society that we live in. Those who live with the perceived minorities may not have the same digital advantages as their economically better off counterparts. Simply put, if one does not have access to instant communication, then one will be considered digitally disadvantaged and as such, be part of the divide. Not everyone in the world has access to the internet. Most of the electronic connections can easily be found in the United State, Europe and Northern Asia. However countries like Africa India, and Souther parts of Asia cannot easily afford to get connected. They are unable to invest in the necessary technology to keep their nation competitive on the world stage. A country that has very little electronic communication infrastructure in place such as the internet, is a country that is not ready to join the globalized business market. That is because these countries will be unable to properly hone their citizens in terms of IT skills of an international level (“The Impact of the Global Digital Divide”). On the other hand, the more affluent countries such a s the United States, The United Kingdom, etc., continue to churn our highly trained, technical professionals who can manage to up the value of their countrys business dealings simply by being “ICT” trained. It is important to remember though, that although the more advanced countries are capable of being trained to deal with the digital divide, that does not mean that the divide does not exist in their individual countries. According to a 2011 U.S. Department of Commerce study: “Americans with disabilities are dramatically less likely to use broadband at home than the population without disabilities.” While 68% of the non-disabled population uses broadband at home, only 37.5% of people with disabilities do. ...The reason most often given by people without a home internet connection is lack of need or interest. However, the next two most frequently given reasons were cost (26%) and lacking an adequate computer (18%).  Together these account for a total of 44% of the population who don’t have home internet access.” (Computer Technologies Program, “Narrowing the Digital Divide”). The aforementioned statement makes other people further disinterested in the digital divide, thinking that it does not affect them in any way, shape, or form. The fact that internet access and the cost of computers is still prohibitive in some nations, it becomes clear that the digital divide gives an unfair advantage to those who are not plagued by money problems in society. The digital divide also creates a problem for those whose age no longer allows them to benefit from retraining in the field of Information and Communications Technology. They are now being prevented from gaining employment even though they are capable of accomplishing tasks and jobs without the aid of any digital assistance. The Digital Divide seems to endorse age discrimination in employment by preferring the young, IT trained and experienced employees over those who have minimal to no IT training (“The Impact of the Global Digital Divide”). As such, it would seem that there is a great disadvantage to be had from the emergence of the digital divide. once employment discrimination comes into the picture, it becomes a disadvantage that cannot easily be overcome even by those who wish to try and beat it. It not easy to find a way to beat the digital divide because; “... the rift between the acceleration of access points in industrialised countries compared to that of developing countries is widening faster, with internet growth in the third world impeded by both financial and structural limitations, referred to as digital divide, an economic phenomenon that distinguishes developed from developing countries, where factors of geography, socio-economic status and ethnicity prove crucial” (Doherty, 2008). That said, it becomes evident that in order for any country to benefit from the digital divide, that country has to be among the top earning economies in the world. That way their citizens have easy access to the internet, communication tools, and business contacts that can help them to continue the growth of their economy. But regardless of the problems that beset the nations that are affected by the digital divide, the reality of the situation is that unless the divide is bridged or narrowed, nations will crumble under the weight of their economic problems that are heightened by their lack of ability to compete with the other, better equipped information and communication technology connected nations. ICT is the wave of the future. There is no turning back, there is no return to the rotary phone with pen and paper days. Any country that cannot keep up with the needs of information technology and build the proper infrastructure to keep up is doomed to fail economically. Sadly, it is difficult to find the silver lining behind the digital divide. With the emergence of information communications technology as the most important business tool of the future, one has to wonder as to why it is still highly difficult to keep up with the trend. Can the problem somehow be eliminated? The answer is, it never hurts to try. Information technology experts already agree that computer technology and skills are necessary in order to create an advantage when promoting the sound economics of a nation. By touting advanced ICT skills, a country will be afforded more international investment by other nations looking for the same qualifications. Mostly found among developing nations, it then becomes quite possible to narrow the digital divide based upon the speed of ICT manpower training that a lower economy ranked country is capable of producing (“Are There Any Benefits to the Digital Divide?”). But there are also a number of other reasons that make it of the utmost importance that the digital divide among societies and nations be narrowed down as soon as possible. A country that is digitally connected claim to have economic equality since their citizens are all capable of owning a computer and accessing the internet. Social mobility exists for businessmen and students since they are capable of accessing important information at the touch of a screen. People will have more freedom to express themselves within the democratic state of the internet. A country that wishes to experience economic growth needs to build digital infrastructure that will boost the confidence of the investors in their business ideas (“The Digital Divide, ICT and the 50X15 Initiative”). By staying ahead of the digital pack, a country will manage to make itself more competitive than before in terms of enticing investors into their country. Taking such important information into consideration, it would seem quite urgent that countries find a way to bridge the digital gap as soon as possible. The economic lifeline of their citizens depend upon it. Even though the need to bridge the digital divide can be seen in the everyday economics of a nation or society, it is still quite difficult for them to bridge the gap. That is because the “cost of computers, broadband access, and lack of digital skills serve as a barrier to broadband adoption, even when the service is available” (Communication Workers of America, Benefits: Bridging the Digital Divide”). Boiling the narrowing of the digital divide down to the benefits of high speed internet access in underserved communities, We can see that the same global advantages of narrowing the digital divide also exist on a social level. Education will be easier and will be accessible even to the students in the most remote areas of a country, businesses will be enticed to invest in low-income areas where their presence can spur job creation, and the public health will also improve as people will now have a chance to access general health information in the absence of a medical professional (Communication Workers of America, Benefits: Bridging the Digital Divide”). There are those who oppose the growth of ICT because it seems like a luxury rather than a necessity. Mostly because of the prohibitive cost of gaining good to excellent internet access. With some ICT access controlled by monopolies in some countries, the cost of a person investing in digital technology can sometimes boil down to either having food on the table or an internet connection. The choice in such a scenario is quite obvious. Then there is the problem that some ICT providers face which is the lack of infrastructure and government support for the ICT programs. Thus limiting the populations access to the internet as well. Such a barrier limits the type of ICT training that people in a nation can benefit from as well. Although the problems preventing the narrowing of the digital divide seem insurmountable, the reality of the situation is that there are still options out there that can help ease the divide if not help solve the problem. It is important to try and find solutions to the problem because the future economics of the world and businesses depend upon it. Some of the solutions that can be looked into in an effort to resolve the problem is to have non-government organizations specializing in computer literacy and work skills work with organizations keen on promoting computer and technology education (“Are There Any Benefits to the Digital Divide?”). Dropping the prices of computers, internet access, and phone services can also help make the technology affordable to more people. More competition among cable and internet provider companies will also help widen the audience for ICT services. However, these are ideas that cannot be implemented by ICT experts, computer manufacturers, or software developers alone. Even if they paired up with NGOs, it would still be next to impossible to do. Therefore, the answer to the question of how to narrow the digital divide lies in the governance of the situation. Government intervention and regulation will allow people to have subsidized access to these necessary digital services. Businesses can write-off their donations to NGOs specializing in ICT training as a tax credit, internet service monopolies can be prevented or removed. In other words, the government needs to make it lucrative for these businesses to narrow the digital divide in order to resolve the problem (Crawford 2011). We acknowledge that the digital divide does exist. We agree that unless the divide is resolved, individuals, businesses, and countries have a lot to lose in terms of economics. We know that the playing field needs to be levelled in order to allow everyone to benefit from the existence of ICT. All that is left, is for people and countries to get together and come up with a conclusive and doable solution to the existing digital divide. There are options present, those concerned just need to be willing to work towards the solutions. Then we will be able to say that the digital divide has been if not narrowed, then solved completely. Sources Careaga, C. (n.d.). Digital divide. techdisadvantages.blogspot.com. techdisadvantagescblogspot.com. Retrieved from http://techdisadvantages.blogspot.com/2010/02/digital-divide.html Communication Workers of America. (2014) “Benefits: Bridging the digital divide”. speedmatters.org. speedmatters.org. Retrieved from http://www.speedmatters.org/benefits/archive/bridging-digital-divide/ Computer Technologies Program (2013). Narrowing the digital divide. ctpberk.org. ctpberk.org. Retrieved from http://www.ctpberk.org/2139/narrowing-digital-divide/ Crawford, S. (2011). The new digital divide. nytimes.com. nytimes.com. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/opinion/sunday/internet-access-and-the-new- divide.html?pagewanted=all Doherty, C. (2008). The digital divide - the advantages and disadvantages of the world wide web. ezinearticles.com. ezinearticles.com. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Digital-Divide---The-Advantages-And- Disadvantages-Of-The-World-Wide-Web&id=1208501 N.A. (n.d.). Are there any benefits to the digital divide?. dividedbytechnology.co.uk. dividedbytechnology.co.uk. Retrieved from http://www.dividedbytechnology.co.uk/benefits.html N.A. (2013). The digital divide, ICT and the 50X15 initiative. internetworldstats.com. internetwordstats.com. Retrieved from http://www.internetworldstats.com/links10.htm N.A. (n.d.). The impact of the global digital divide. dividedbytechnology.co.uk. dividedbytechnology.co.uk. Retrieved from http://www.dividedbytechnology.co.uk/impacts.html Rouse, M. (2005). Digital divide. techtarget.com. techtarget.com. Retrieved from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digital-divide Read More