digital divide, term that describes the uneven distribution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in society. The digital divide encompasses differences in both access (first-level digital divide) and usage (second-level digital divide) of computers and the Internet between (1) industrialized and developing countries (global divide), (2) various socioeconomic groups within single nation-states (social divide), and (3) different kinds of users with regard to their political engagement on the Internet (democratic divide). In general, those differences are believed to reinforce social inequalities and to cause a persisting information or knowledge gap amid those people with access to and using the new media (“haves”) and those people without (“have-nots”). Show The digital divide metaphor became popular in the mid-1990s, when the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce published “Falling Through the Net: A Survey of the ‘Have Nots’ in Rural and Urban America” (1995), a research report on Internet diffusion among Americans. The report revealed widespread inequalities in national ICT access, with migrant or ethnic minority groups and older, less-affluent people living in rural areas with low educational attainments being especially excluded from Internet services. That pattern was confirmed by follow-up surveys by the NTIA, which indicated also an initial gender gap in favour of men. Although diffusion rates of the Internet subsequently rose in all groups, subsequent studies showed a perpetuating digital divide both in the United States and abroad. Some common characteristics emerged. In single nation-states, access to and usage of computer technology was stratified by age, education, ethnicity, race, family structure, gender, income, occupation, and place of residence. In that way, affluent young urban men and women with high levels of education who lived in small families with children were the greatest adopters of new media. Such people are most likely to possess ICTs (material or physical access), the experience and skills necessary to use the Internet (skills access), and sufficient free time to spend online (usage access). Here, Internet usage among advantaged groups includes searching for information to address professional or political interests. On the contrary, many people from less-advantaged groups have been shown to lack those basic navigation skills and to prefer entertainment on the Internet instead. On the global level, additional factors such as per capita gross domestic product, international trade volume, degree of democratization, deregulation of the telecommunications market, density of communication infrastructure, and investments in research and development also influence Internet diffusion. Thus, industrial societies are more prone to implement new technologies than less-developed countries. For example, by 2012 the greatest intensity of national ICT access and usage had occurred in South Korea, Japan, and northern Europe. Over time, the global digital divide has remained relatively stable. Yet, in single nation-states some gaps in ICT access and usage have slowly begun to fade. The early differences between men and women and between rural and urban areas of Western residences subsided, possibly due to extended telecommunications networks, lowered entry barriers, and additional ICT experiences at work. Other initial inequalities caused by factors such as age, education, ethnicity and race, and income, however, continued. Those divergent developments and the various types of ICT access and usage encountered in single countries led some researchers to criticize the original description of a digital divide. In their opinion, the metaphor wrongly implies a binary construction of “haves” and “have-nots” on the basis of the simple notion of absolute and insurmountable class differences in technology. Alternatively, they postulate “digital inequality” as a gradual concept and therefore advocate multidimensional measures of Internet connectedness that take into account the history and context of Internet use, its scope and intensity, and, finally, the centrality of ICTs in people’s lives. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now Similarly, policy initiatives conducted by supranational organizations (e.g., European Union and the United Nations), national governments, and private enterprises have been expanded to ameliorate worldwide differences in ICT usage. Although initially concentrating on mere improvement of technical access to computers and the Internet in rural areas and public institutions (e.g., in libraries and schools), projects designed to close the digital divide have shifted to also include civic information campaigns and ICT courses for specific user groups.
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#society #digital talent #R&D ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) offer many advantages: greater access to information, cost reduction in the labour sector, greater connectivity between people, etc. However, digitalisation is not happening equally all over the world, because imbalance exists and this is known as the digital divide.
Inequality in access to the Internet and ICT is known as the digital divide.
In just a few days, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus locked us up in the house meaning we had to study, work and look into each other's eyes through a camera. Access to the Internet has enabled many of us to get on with our lives despite the pandemic thanks to modalities such as remote working and online education, but the reality isn't the same all over the world. In fact, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the specialised agency of the United Nations (UN), warned at the end of 2021 that almost half of the earth's inhabitants — some 2.9 billion people — do not even have access to the Internet. WHAT IS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE?Inequality in access to the Internet and ICT is known as the digital divide and affects 52 % of women and 42 % of men worldwide. This gap becomes even wider when we talk about regions: according to data taken from the Internet portal World Stats as of December 2021, in Africa only 43.1 % of its inhabitants had Internet access, compared to 88.4 % of Europeans and 93.4 % of Americans. The data shows the technological gap that separates some countries from others, despite the fact that 3G and 4G networks, while awaiting the massive expansion of 5G, are already reaching almost every corner of the planet. Here, it is important to distinguish between access to the Internet and digital literacy, that is, the learning process that enables a person to acquire the skills to understand and benefit from the educational, economic and social potential of the new technologies.
CAUSES AND TYPES OF DIGITAL DIVIDEThe digital divide was initially attributed to underdevelopment and was perceived as something temporary that would disappear with the popularisation of technology. Instead, the divide persists today despite the mass marketing of electronic devices with Internet access. The causes can range from the high price of the above-mentioned devices to the lack of knowledge about their use or the lack of infrastructure for their access. In this regard, we review the types of digital divide:
A few years ago, ITU established the Digital Access Index (DAI), which measures the overall ability of a country's citizens to access and use ICT. This index takes into account various variables grouped around five categories, which are as follows: quality, infrastructure, knowledge, accessibility and use. CONSEQUENCES OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDETechnological discrimination is a form of poverty and social exclusion, depriving some citizens of essential resources for development and wealth generation. We have seen this a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many students and workers found it difficult to work from home and follow classes online. We review the main effects of the digital divide below: Lack of communication and isolationPeople in remote areas who do not have access to the Internet are disconnected. Something similar happens to urban residents who are disconnected which causes social isolation. Barrier to studies and knowledgeThe coronavirus crisis has shown the effects of the digital divide in education: teachers and students out of the loop because they lack sufficient technology and digital skills. It also increases lack of knowledge by limiting access to knowledge. Accentuates social differencesDigital illiteracy reduces the chances of finding a job and accessing quality employment, which has a negative impact on the workers' economy. Gender discriminationAs we saw at the beginning, the digital divide negatively affects women more than men, which violates the principles of gender equality. STRATEGIES ON BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDEThe UN includes the reduction of the digital divide (SDG 9) in its Sustainable Development Goals. That is why, in many places initiatives have been launched to facilitate access to technology. Here we mention some of the most relevant ones:
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What is the term for inequalities in access to distribution of and use of information technology between two or more populations?
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