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WEEK 4:
TOPIC: Digital Divide (Concept of digital divide)
CONTENT: (a) Concept of the digital divide
Sub-Topic 1: Concept of the digital divide
Digital divide refers to the gap between those people with effective access to digital and information technology and those without. It includes the imbalance in the physical access to technology as well as imbalance in resources and skills needed to participate effectively as a digital citizen.
The Digital divide is probably one of the first concepts considered when reflecting on the theme of the social impact caused by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). From there on, one perceives that these technologies are going to produce differences in the development opportunities of people, and that a distance will be established between those with access to these technologies and those without.
The term ‘digital divide’ describes the fact that the world can be divided into people who do and people who don’t have access to, and the capability to use modern Information and Communication Technology, such as the telephone, television, or the internet.
The digital divide is often seen to exist along the following lines:
- Between the rich and poor countries;
- Between those in cities and those in rural areas;
- Between males and females
- Between the rich and the poor individuals;
- Between physically challenged and those without any disability
- Between literates and illiterates, etc.
It has been suggested that one of the relevant ways of measuring the gap in access to ICTs is to look at the differences between developed and developing countries in the level of penetration of different ICT services (telephone, mobile phone, internet) and of personal computers. Over the course of the past decade, the gap has narrowed markedly, with particularly rapid progress in the field of mobile phones and internet use.
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