The Digital Divide

The digital divide is one of the most pressing and delicate problems in today’s society. Technology is evolving as such a fast pace that we have quite literally left the world behind creating a huge gap in the global community.

Dan Worth reported in a recent article that the European Commission has been urged to create policies and set up public initiatives to develop networks in rural and hard-to-reach European regions. The digital divide is a global problem. We must begin working toward a resolution soon or the divide will be too large to correct.

There are three main categories of the digital divide including: economic, usability, and empowerment.

Obviously, this division exists because not everyone can afford a computer and more importantly the ability to connect to the Internet. Economically this is a problem. More and more companies are beginning to do business online. The people without proper Internet access will not be able to participate and will have a great disadvantage over the majority of those who are technologically savvy.

Eventually this will change. As computer prices drop, more people will be able to purchase them. As long as the Internet stays neutral the economic divide will slowly begin to close over the next several decades.

Usability is also very problematic. Once people actually have the technology they must learn how to use it. The knowledge is greatly lacking when it comes to using a computer. In order to solve this issue, the public must be taught how to use the technology efficiently. This would be a much harder feat to accomplish simply because of funding and participation.

Thirdly, there is an empowerment divide. Those who are technologically savvy not only know how to use a computer but when they do not understand something they have the ability to look it up and learn for themselves. Those on the other side of the divide do not or possibly don’t know how to take the initiative and learn something on their own.

The older generation for example, almost always asks for repeated “lessons” on how to use the computer instead of simply playing with the technology until they find a solution to their problem.

Ultimately the digital divide must be closed in order to have an equal and prosperous global community. The power of the Internet is astronomical. If we take the time to teach others about the technology and help nurture their desire to learn more we will not only have a more flourishing economy but will improve the standard of life for people around the world.