Concept of Digital Divide - Report Example

Digital Divide [Name] [Professor Name] [Course] [Date] Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Abstract: 2 Digital Divide 3 Advantages of improving digital divide 7 Disadvantages of improving digital divide 10 Conclusion 11 References 12 Figure 1: Causes, effects and bridging digital divide (Giebel 2013). 4 Figure 2: Determinants of digital divide (Srinuan and Bohlin 2011). 6 Abstract: Digital divide refers to the gap that separates individuals who have access to news forms of information and communication technology and those that do not. The term further denotes the gaps in the capacities existing between individuals in using the ICT because of the individual’s diverse range of technical skills or literacy. This essay explains the concept of digital divide in details. It also examines the advantages and disadvantage of improving digital divide. Digital Divide The term digital divide was developed in the mid-1990s to the gap that separates individuals who have access to news forms of information and communication technology and those that do not (Srinuan and Bohlin 2011). It has earned many definitions since. Indeed, some researchers have restricted their definitions to the access to digital information and communication technology (Epstein, Nisbet and Gillespie 2011). An alternative definition is that digital divide refers to the economic and social gap between persons, communities of countries that have access to ICT and those that do not (Keniston 2003). Brooks, Donovan and Rumble (2005) have also assumed an alternative definition to describe digital divide as the gap between those who can use ICT effectively and those who cannot. Despite the range of definitions, the fundamental concern is on whether the term explains the discrepancies between individual, communities or countries that can conveniently access and use ICT forms, such as the internet, computers and other technologies. Digital divide has several causes and effects (see Fig. 1)(Giebel 2013). Figure 1: Causes, effects and bridging digital divide (Giebel 2013). In attempting to describe digital divide, Keniston (2003) classifies the digital divide into four divides. Based on his perspective, digital divide is considers as a “unitary phenomenon” and therefore is greatly indivisible into units. It is however useful to differentiate between the rich and the advantaged who are considered to be a part of the information age and the poor and the disadvantaged who are not part of the information age. However, when viewed analytically, there are up to four different digital divides. The first digital divide comprises one that exists within nations, whether developing or developed. This kind of digital divide is particularly concerned with citizens who are educated, powerful and rich, and those who are not. For instance, education and income in the United States is different from those who own computers or who can access the internet and those who do not. According to ICF International, as of 2011, around 66 percent of the American adults had internet at home, while the remaining 15 percent did not use the internet at all because of low income, were either disabled or formed a minority group. The remaining could use the internet (Bates, Malakof and Kane 2012). The concept of digital divide is often examined within the international context, and indicates that certain nations such as Australia or the United States are better equipped with ICT and have significantly taken advantage of the computers and the internet compared to developing countries such as India or Pakistan. While this argument may be true, the first digital divide indicates that digital divide in the United States and Australia is also significant. The second digital divide is refers to the cultural and linguistic gap, and how it affects access to information and communication technology. Keniston (2003) observed that in many developed nations such as the United States, the divide separates those who can speak English from those who do not, particularly the immigrants. Even in the United States, although nearly 95 percent of inhabitants can speak English fluently, there are large differences in accessing ICT among various ethnic or cultural groups. The third digital divide refers to the growing digital gap between the developing and the developed countries. For instance, internet and computer penetration is relatively higher in Nordic countries such as Germany, Sweden, Iceland and Finland compared to African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. The fourth digital divide emerges from a new elite group dubbed the “digerati,” which means the beneficiaries of an extensive and successful ICT industry in addition to other knowledge-based sectors in an economy such as pharmacology or biotechnology (Keniston 2003). There are several factors contributing to digital divide, all of which have to be resolved if digital divide has to be improved (See Figure 2). These include the skills and proficiency, cost of access, education, ethnicity, race, direct network effects, quality and speed of service, infrastructure, psychological factors and culture. The dynamism and the ever increasing number of factors indicate that digital divide has extended beyond the concept of technological access. Figure 2: Determinants of digital divide (Srinuan and Bohlin 2011). Advantages of improving digital divide The four digital divides are essential for critical understanding of different forms or digital divide. Access to computers and the internet and the capacity to access these technologies has increasingly become crucial for full participation in the global economy, or social and political life. Improving digital divide has several implications for an individual or a country in general, which should however not be overplayed (Keniston 2003). Increasing access to relevant information using electronic sources by the disadvantaged individuals and countries has a range of benefits. Such countries may experience a sharp rise in the general quality of education in their learning institutions through increased access to pertinent research information. An outstanding benefit of having a better educated society includes the development of a greatly skilled workforce. Most countries that make the developing world are being left behind by the more developed countries, with the level of education and research ranking among the most significant areas affected. Srinuan and Bohlin (2011) assess the situation in the following way; according to their discussion, the most unfortunate outcome of digital divide across the developing nations is the negative impact on education. Improving digital divide would therefore provide exciting and innovative learning opportunities for students in the developing world to access current information as well as communicate their thoughts in a relatively dynamic way. However, lack of access of ICT forms that students in the developing nations have access to, has the potential to make the students in the developing nations to fall further behind compared to their peers in the developed nations (Samara 2005; Bates, Malakof and Kane 2012). Improving digital gap can also reduce the cost of education. Several theorists have proposed the idea that child learning can be improved by equipping school-going children with laptops to cut the cost of buying books. Indeed, acquiring information on the internet saves the cost of printing and buying books (Witchalls 2005). A much greater saving is the cost of the textbooks that each student should have been given in a school, which only rich families could afford. Indeed, such a concept was proposed in the UK in 2005, by Citizens Online, a British nonprofit organization. The plan was to equip all schoolchildren with a laptop by 2010 to cut the cost of learning. The laptops were made cheaper, at $100 for each laptop (Witchalls 2005). The laptops were estimated as capable of dividing the digital gap between the schoolchildren and the adults, as well as to reduce the cost of learning. Within the developed countries such as Australia, accessibility to high speed broadband will allow Aboriginal students in distance rural Australian regions to access similar internet resources as student in the inner cities or rich suburbs (Samara 2005). Improving the digital gap between communities or individuals with computers and the internet, as well as the proficiency to use the technologies is crucial for promoting economic activities in a country. This is because jobs are increasing relying on computers. Computer illiterate individuals have been often closed out of computer-based jobs, and hence such individuals have had limited opportunities to improve their economic welfare (McLaren and Zappala 2001). Indeed, access to fast broadband internet has the potential to create wealth and development as well as prevent possible marginalization of communities. For instance, the undeserved low-income regions are able to attract businesses and technology startups that often stay in places with high-speed internet. A recent survey by Brookings Institution found that for each percent point increase in penetration of the broadband internet, employment increase by nearly 300,000 jobs. Improved digital divide has the potential to improve the social and political welfare of a society. For instance, more information services are being shifted online because improved access to computers and the internet and increasing rate of computer literacy. Consequently, those on the downside of the digital divide are pushed towards the margin of the society. In the same breath, there is a growing consensus that increase internet use leads to a more democratic society, since the participation of the public in policymaking through the social media, or participation in election is improved (Burns and McGrail 2012). For instance, communities that feel under-represented in the policymaking processes are able to participate in public forums or debates online. As a result, improved digital divide strengthens the socio-political and socio-economic welfare. Indeed, such facts are seen to translate to the fact that improving digital divide has the potential to benefit the digital disadvantaged and the nation as whole. Improving digital divide has the potential of improving public health. As a result of broadband connection, communities or individuals who have no health insurance are able to access information on healthcare. This enables them to manage their health as well as gain an understanding of the health conditions and alternative health interventions. In Australia, the government rolled out a multi-billion-dollar program dubbed the National Broadband Network (NBN) to install broadband in about 90 percent of the Australian homes. Initially, Australia had been at the downside of digital divide, compared to countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea. Currently, countries such as the United States, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania are approaching 10 percent penetration (Tucker 2011).The result is that telemedicine was able to provide cost-effective healthcare solutions to residents in the rural and urban areas with equal measure. Additionally, video-conferencing was promoted between health professional in across rural and remote regions. Improving digital divide has also been instrumental in enabling organizations across the regions at the downside of digital divide to cut costs, in the same manner as those organizations with great digital technology advantage (Witchalls 2005). For instance, nonprofit organizations with headquarters in developed countries, and which operated in less developed and marginalized regions have been able to attain their target programs because of increased access to latest researchers, as well as networking with peers. Disadvantages of improving digital divide Although the improving digital divide has been greatly welcomed by individuals and countries that look to take advantage of their benefits, improving digital divide has several disadvantages. First, the rapid expansion of internet connectivity has necessitated online security vulnerabilities (Broadhurst 2006). For instance, in the past one decade, the concept of cybercrime was foreign in developing countries in Africa such as Nigeria and parts of Asia. The most affected countries comprised the United States and UK. However, the closing digital divide has caused the trend to spread to African countries, such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa that have been at the forefront of closing the digital gap to equate that of the developed worlds. Some commentators have argued that digital divide strategies are not intended to target people at the downside of the divide, since they will just be beneficiaries of its implementation. Rather, it should be aimed at the policymakers (Bates, Malakof and Kane 2012). Some researchers have reiterated a correlation between bridging the digital divide with the increased cultural and moral degradation. For instance, countries sin Africa such as Tanzania that could not access inappropriate digital content due to lack of access to the internet and computers can access the content, some of which are inappropriate and that have been blamed for digital divide (Sedoyeka 2012). Additionally, individuals who were initially at the downside of digital divide can access pornography and other age-related content. Indeed, this has been criticized for being the major disadvantage of the internet by moralists. Some African states such as Egypt and Ethiopia have been adamant about restricting such sites to their cyberspace. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that the digital divide is essentially a socio-political issue relating to the gap between individuals or communities with access to computers and the internet and those without. The term also denotes the gaps in the capacities existing between individuals in using the ICT because of the individual’s diverse range of technical skills or literacy. Improving digital divide has several advantages, which should however not be overplayed. Universal access to ICT can necessitate a global community of commerce, social interaction and learning. This can lead to improved health care, economy and social welfare, which further results to improved standards of living. However, improving digital divide has been criticised for the spread of cybercrimes and the prevalence of cultural and moral degradation. References Bates, K, Malakof, L & Kane, S 2012, Closing the Digital Divide: Promoting Broadband Adoption Among Underserved Populations, ICF International, viewed 20 Sept 2013, http://www.nlc.org/Documents/Find%20City%20Solutions/Research%20Innovation/Infrastructure/Closing_Digital_Divide_Promoting_Broadband_Adoption_Underserved_Populations.pdf Burns, A & McGrail, S 2012, "Australia’s Potential Internet Futures: Incasting Alternatives Using a New Technology Images Framework," Journal of Futures Studies, Vol. 16 No. 4,pp. 33-50 Broadhurst, R 2006, "Developments in the global law enforcement of cyber-crime," International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 408-433 Brooks, S, Donovan, P & Rumble, C 2005, "Developing Nations, the Digital Divide and Research Databases," Serials Review, Vol. 31, pp.270-278 Epstein, D, Nisbet, E & Gillespe, T 2011, "Who’s Responsible for the Digital Divide? Public Perceptions and Policy Implications," The Information Society, Vol. 27,pp 92–104 Giebel. M 2013, "Digital Divide, Knowledge and Innovations," Journal of Information, Information Technology, and Organizations, Vol 8, Keniston, K 2003, The Four Digital Divides, Sage Publishers: Delhi McLaren,J & Zappala, G 2001, The new economy revisited: an initial analysis of the digital divide among financially disadvantaged families, viewed 20 Sept 2013, https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/webdata/resources/files/Background_Paper_6.pdf Sedoyeka, E 2012, "Obstacles in Bridging the Digital Divide in Tanzania," International Journal of Computing and ICT Research, Special Issue Vol. 6, Issue 1, pp 60-72 Samara, K 2005, “Indigenous Australians and the ‘digital divide,'” Libri Vol 55, pp.84-95 Srinuan, C & Bohlin, E 2011, Understanding the digital divide: A literature survey and ways forward, 22nd European Regional Conference of the International Telecommunications Society (ITS2011), Budapest, 18 - 21 September, 2011: Innovative ICT Applications - Emerging Regulatory, Economic and Policy Issues Tucker, R 2011, Broadband Facts, Fiction And Urban Myths, Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society, University of Melbourne: Melbourne Witchalls, C. 2005, Bridging the digital divide, the Guardian, viewed 20 Sept 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/feb/17/olpc.onlinesupplement Read More