Digital Divide
The digital divide is a term that refers to the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology (ICT), and those that don’t or have restricted access. This technology can include the telephone, television, personal computers and internet connectivity.
Origins of the Digital Divide
Well before the late 20th century, the digital divide referred chiefly to the division between those with and without telephone access. After the late 1990s, the term began to be used mainly to describe the split between those with and without internet access, however, particularly broadband.
Even among populations with some access to technology, the digital divide can be evident in the form of lower-performance computers, lower-speed wireless connections, lower-priced internet use connections such as dial-up and limited access to subscription-based content.
Bridging the Digital Divide
Proponents for bridging the digital divide include those who argue it would improve digital literacy, digital skills democracy, social mobility, economic equality and economic growth.
The United Nations, for example, has helped to raise awareness regarding the global digital divide through the yearly celebration of World Information Society Day. It has also created the Information and Communication Technologies Task Force in an effort to bridge the global digital divide.
The reality of a separate-access marketplace is problematic because of the rise of services such as video on demand, video conferencing and virtual classrooms, which require access to the high-speed internet connections that those on the less-served side of the digital divide cannot access and/or afford. To combat this, some nonprofit groups have taken to providing internet access and laptops to school districts and areas with internet users of a lower-income level.