The Digital Divide - Essay Example

The digital divide Name Institution Introduction Some centuries ago, the differences in economic endowment and prosperity among different classes of people could have been attributed to factors such as lack of basic skills and resources. Today, the upsurge and usage of technology is the main cause of this disparity. Several scholars modestly describe this as the digital divide. Digital divide shows the discrepancy in incomes and economic endowments of different people in different places resulting in their exposure to information and communication technologies. Hargittai (nd, p. 3) state that there are numerous factors that lead to this complex situation including race, gender, sex, income, location and even education levels. Milner (2006, p. 179) agree with the postulation by Hargittai (nd, p. 3) and they add the divide is mainly existent in poor countries where the rich have access to Information and Communication and Technological facilities and the poor do not have any form of access to the same. Several issues crop up in this case. Digital divide has its own advantages and disadvantages. This paper explores both concepts through first taking an in-depth analysis into the digital divide definitions from different scholars and then embarking into the discussion of the advantages as well as the disadvantages that are associated with the same. The digital divide- definitions Several scholars have different views about this scenario but their definition of this concept is strikingly similar. Several definitions have been used to explain this scenario as the following sentences highlight. Wolf & MacKinnon (2002, p. 7) defines this concept as the presence of inequalities between the access to and the utilization of information and communication technology (ICT). According to them, inequalities in ICT may exist between countries and at the same time within countries. In other words, there may be a digital divide existing between different nations across the globe. People of different nations across the globe have different levels of access to the ICT. For instance, people in USA cannot may be having a higher and easier access to ICT than people living in another country in another part of the world, say, Africa. This creates a digital divide between nations. Another scenario and form of digital divide exists within the boundaries of a nation. For instance, America has different states and each state may be having a different level of access to ICT. This creates a digital divide in the country. Vehovar et al (2006, p. 280) quoted in Utsa (2011, p.1) provides an inner definition of the term. Though the author is in agreement to the definition offered by Wolf & MacKinnon (2002, p. 7), a more detailed breakdown of the same concept is offered where the digital divide is shown to be the differences between the number of people, households, companies and organizations which have the capacity to access the ICT. Normally, this is defined in a simpler and more general term as the number of people who have the capacity to access the internet at any given time within a given locality. The definitions offered in the above sentences do indeed tally. Before these definitions could have been carried out, perhaps it would have been better to offer a definition of the intricacies that are adjoined to the term ICT. This has been done in the preceding sentences. The ICT term stands for information and communication technology. This term is used to encompass devices used in the telecommunication sector such as mobile phones and satellites and broadcasting devices such as radio and TVs. In this category too are all devices used to carry and allow users to access information and data online like the computer and any device that could carry data from one place to the other like the flash disk. It therefore follows that the term accessing ICT implies having access to the above devices and having the capacity to be able to use the devices named above. Proponents of the digital divide Following the above definition, there are a number of characteristics that could be used to show the existence of digital divide as discussed in this paragraph. The disparity in access of materials and devices in ICT is the very first proponent. The existence of the digital divide may be brought about by the fact that different places may have different levels of access to devices and computers (Wolf & MacKinnon 2002, p. 13). Some places may have challenges when it comes to accessing these devices and other places do not experience similar challenges. This sets the ground for the creation of a digital divide between the two places. Another proponent of the digital divide is the disparity in skills in ICT between different regions. If one region has more people who have more skills in ICT, they will tend to be more digitalized than their counterparts who do not have high levels of ICT thereby creating a digital divide between the two places. Another proponent would be brought about by lack of digital experience following lack of interest in ICT between one region and another. Those who show some interest in ICT will go to lengths to ensure that they have achieved their desire to become digital. The vice versa is also true. Bridging the digital divide From the discourse carried above, it has been shown that the existence of a digital divide may not be a classic thing. For this reason, it is important for individuals, society and governments to come up with informed ways of ensuring that the gap that exists in the digital world has been sealed. Bridging the digital divide entails bringing together resources that are meant to ensure that the disparity in ICT between two groups of people or two nations have been done away with. There exist several advantages as well as disadvantages that are associated with this concept of bridging down the digital divide. These advantages as well as the disadvantages are discussed in the following paragraphs. One of the main pros of bridging the digital divide is that people from different nations across the globe will have the chance to develop their ICT skills through having more access to ICT devices and facilities. This in turn makes them become more employable and raises their means of livelihood. This has been found to be of particular interest and important to the people who live in nations that have very huge margins of those living below the poverty lines such as Africa and some parts of Asia. More and more jobs in the world of rapidly changing technology today require that one be having some basic ICT skills before he or she can be deemed as employable. Bridging down this gap hence will expose more and more people to these skills and make more people have chances at attaining gainful employment. When the bridge is narrowed, people will be able to have a heightened degree of social and cultural integration. Through interactions facilitated by ICT, people are able to share music, culture, entertainment with other people across the globe. Intermarriages between races and people of different ethnicities also occur along these platforms when people meet online through use of internet and interact. This has led to a lot of flow and exchange of information and ideas between people from different sections and social divides across the globe. Businesses have also thrived against this backdrop. The narrowing of the digital divide has led to businesses utilizing ICT to market their produce and services to a wider clientele. This has resulted into the accumulation of profits and expansion of businesses, thereby leading to increased revenues and improved livelihoods. More and more people are using internet and the social networks in the world today. Business people have been able to tap into this huge potential and create a market for their products as well as their services. Through following the interactions people have on the social media platforms, they are able to know what people want and receive their feedback people have on the products that are already existent in the market. When it comes to education, there is no resource in the world that provides data and information pertaining to different issues as the internet does. The internet is able to accommodate insurmountable volumes of data information that could be retrieved by the use of a button. Many people use internet as their basic tool for research because of the numerous information posted into this resource from different people and places across the globe. Bridging down the digital divide will naturally allow people to have access to the internet and hence access to the information that is provided here. This improves their levels of knowledge and in some instances, it also increases their skills and capacities. Many learning institutions have embraced this concept and are offering learning facilities through the use of internet. A person can be able to virtually earn an accreditation from an institution of learning located miles away without having to physically be present in this institution. The use of internet takes care of that through distant learning modules. Heightening the levels of education will also be instrumental in the reduction of the divide in literacy levels between developed nations and developing nations as well as between the rural set-ups and urban set-ups. Bridging the digital divide will also influence and enhance the social and political responsibility of the people (Milner 2006, p. 182). For instance, politicians can be able to reach to more people at once when they want to pass a political message to the people. Before the advent of ICT devices such as the radio and the TV, let alone internet which came far much later, people had a rough time passing messages across communities through the use of messengers and other crude forms such as drum beating and making noises. When the radio came, this was made easier but still, its reach was limited. The internet seems to have adopted all the strengths of the former mediums of communication and none of their weaknesses. Almost every person in the world today who recognizes the importance of internet is onto some form of social media platform. Politicians have identified the strength of these social media platforms that use the internet to bring people together. In addition, since internet is among the cheapest resources- all you need is a computer and internet connectivity or a mobile phone which has the capacity to connect to the internet- almost everybody uses the internet. People have gained more social, cultural and political awareness through interactions with other people on these platforms. Politicians use the platforms to provide information to their people in a collective manner. The disadvantages of bridging the digital divide have not been documented as such. However, like two sides to a coin, even bridging the digital divide has some cons as the following paragraph highlights. One of the disadvantages is that most of these facilities are manufactured in languages that are foreign to the targeted users. For instance, you may find computers that are manufactured in China, programmed in Chinese and targeted for African market. This definitely creates an immediate problem of language barrier. When there is a language barrier, the problem of digital divide that the devices were meant to get rid of still remains. Another disadvantage is that too much interaction through the internet and the social media brought forth by the bridging of the digital divide leads to social imbalances and unrests. As an example, the Arab spring was caused by people who interacted through the social media and staged protests online. This resulted into the most widespread and violent revolutions recorded in recent history. If not used well, the digital divide could lead to many political, social and economic upheavals. Ways of bridging the digital divide Having defined and identified the various advantages as well as disadvantages of bridging the digital divide in the above discourse, it is important to look at ways through which this can be achieved. This is done through the following paragraphs. The first step would be to ensure that all the devices and facilities that will play a primary role in minimizing this divide have been placed in areas where they can be accessed easily. These include computers, radios, internet connectivity among others. If people realize that they can actually access them easily, they will be more motivated to get involved in the program. Another way would be making sure that the connectivity costs and the costs of accessing the internet and ICT facilities are reduced (Vehovar et al 2006, p. 293). Training should also be carried out to be able to make people become familiarized with the usage of some of these devices. For instance, people who live in the rural areas might be very enthusiastic about trying out some of those equipments and softwares. However, their lack of knowledge, skills or even experience makes them become hesitant. For this reason, it would be important for those who know to avail themselves and teach these people how to use these devices such as a computer. The good thing is that once they are taught, they spread the knowledge over to other members of the society and eventually the whole society becomes empowered. This goes a long way in bridging down the digital divide in such a scenario. Manufacturers of digital and ICT devices should take into consideration the kind of target marker that specific devices are to go to. This takes care of the problem of language barrier where you may find that a particular ICT device has been assembled and packaged in a language nobody understands. The manufacturers should identify first the kind of language that is spoken in the target market and assemble their devices using this language. For example, if the target market for computers is Africa, then using a language such as English to assemble the computers would be ideal, as most people would relate to the English language more than they would relate to Chinese. If the target market is China, the Chinese language would be most ideal in this case. Conclusion The above discussion has provided quite a debate upon the digital divide as a concept. Several issues have been tackled in this essay. Various scholarly definitions of the digital divide have been given. Various advantages as well as disadvantages of bridging down the digital divide have been outlined in this essay and lastly the ways through which this has been conducted discussed. From the discourse, it has been established that a digital divide exists when there are disparities in usage and access of ICT amongst two different groups of people or nations. The society should strive to ensure that this gap is lessened through creating access to ICT facilities for the people in the society. Bridging the digital divide has been observed to raise the level of awareness of the society on the social, economic as well as political fronts. In conclusion, this essay states that bridging the digital divide is one of the best ways to have nations and people achieve some sort of convergence in their lives. References Hargittai, E nd, ‘The Digital Divide and What To Do About It’, viewed 6 November 2013, http://www.eszter.com/research/pubs/hargittai-digitaldivide.pdf Milner, H, V 2006, ‘The Digital Divide: The Role of Political Institutions in Technology Diffusion’, Comparative Political Studies, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 176-199. Utsa, S 2011, ‘Digital divide’, viewed 6 November 2013, http://serenayusta.myefolio.com/Uploads/Digital%20Divide.pdf Vehovar, V, Sicherl, P, Hu ̈sing, T & Dolnicar, V 2006, ‘Methodological Challenges of Digital Divide Measurements’, The Information Society, vol. 22, pp. 279–290. Wolf, L & MacKinnon, S 2002, ‘what is digital divide?’ TechKnowLogia, pp.1-9. Read More

Proponents of the digital divide Following the above definition, there are a number of characteristics that could be used to show the existence of digital divide as discussed in this paragraph. The disparity in access of materials and devices in ICT is the very first proponent. The existence of the digital divide may be brought about by the fact that different places may have different levels of access to devices and computers (Wolf & MacKinnon 2002, p. 13). Some places may have challenges when it comes to accessing these devices and other places do not experience similar challenges.

This sets the ground for the creation of a digital divide between the two places. Another proponent of the digital divide is the disparity in skills in ICT between different regions. If one region has more people who have more skills in ICT, they will tend to be more digitalized than their counterparts who do not have high levels of ICT thereby creating a digital divide between the two places. Another proponent would be brought about by lack of digital experience following lack of interest in ICT between one region and another.

Those who show some interest in ICT will go to lengths to ensure that they have achieved their desire to become digital. The vice versa is also true. Bridging the digital divide From the discourse carried above, it has been shown that the existence of a digital divide may not be a classic thing. For this reason, it is important for individuals, society and governments to come up with informed ways of ensuring that the gap that exists in the digital world has been sealed. Bridging the digital divide entails bringing together resources that are meant to ensure that the disparity in ICT between two groups of people or two nations have been done away with.

There exist several advantages as well as disadvantages that are associated with this concept of bridging down the digital divide. These advantages as well as the disadvantages are discussed in the following paragraphs. One of the main pros of bridging the digital divide is that people from different nations across the globe will have the chance to develop their ICT skills through having more access to ICT devices and facilities. This in turn makes them become more employable and raises their means of livelihood.

This has been found to be of particular interest and important to the people who live in nations that have very huge margins of those living below the poverty lines such as Africa and some parts of Asia. More and more jobs in the world of rapidly changing technology today require that one be having some basic ICT skills before he or she can be deemed as employable. Bridging down this gap hence will expose more and more people to these skills and make more people have chances at attaining gainful employment.

When the bridge is narrowed, people will be able to have a heightened degree of social and cultural integration. Through interactions facilitated by ICT, people are able to share music, culture, entertainment with other people across the globe. Intermarriages between races and people of different ethnicities also occur along these platforms when people meet online through use of internet and interact. This has led to a lot of flow and exchange of information and ideas between people from different sections and social divides across the globe.

Businesses have also thrived against this backdrop. The narrowing of the digital divide has led to businesses utilizing ICT to market their produce and services to a wider clientele. This has resulted into the accumulation of profits and expansion of businesses, thereby leading to increased revenues and improved livelihoods. More and more people are using internet and the social networks in the world today. Business people have been able to tap into this huge potential and create a market for their products as well as their services.

Through following the interactions people have on the social media platforms, they are able to know what people want and receive their feedback people have on the products that are already existent in the market.

Read More