The Digital Divide

Question

Does the current way information technology is distributed and used contribute to unequal opportunities within our society? Do some research on the Internet to learn about the digital divide. What is this divide, and why should we be concerned about it? How has this divide changed over the years? How can the divide be bridged?

Answer 1

Tim,

The "digital divide" is just a fancy way of saying that some people have easy access to internet, tv, phones and personal computers and some don't.

Does this contribute to unequal opportunities? Of course it does! A child who grew up in America with access to the internet all their life is clearly more likely to learn how to code, or create a successful blog or become an influencer than someone who did not grow up with internet- a child in Africa for example.

Or we can keep the argument to people in America. A teenager in a wealthy family who has his own personal laptop can spend as much time as he wants accessing online study materials for college entrance exams, as much time as he wants typing up college admissions essays and as much time as he wants submitting those college applications. What about a teenager who does not have a personal laptop? It would be a serious disadvantage!

Of course, we have to consider that the already existing inequality in the world is what created the digital divide in the first place! But the digital divide perpetuates wealth inequality and that fact should not be ignored.

How has the divide changed over the years? How can it be bridged?

Interesting questions... very interesting...

I don't think there is much of a digital divide between us- you can research this as easily as I could! ;)

You would have to figure out things like how many more people have internet access/phones/tv now than did 5-10 years ago in order to ponder how the divide has changed over the years. And bridging the divide definitely has to do with the costs of these things.

Hope this helps! :)