WS798: What is the digital divide?

The digital divide is a relatively new concept, emerging with the invention and widely growing use of the internet. The internet has grown by millions of users in just the past few years and it seems that everyone we know has an account on facebook, myspace, twitter, youtube, flickr, skype, or aol instant messanger. We use the internet for school (research, communication with professors or classmates, submitting assignments, registering for classes, etc), work (background checks, communication with our boss or co-workers, research, marketing tips, world, national, and local news, etc), and personal tasks (communication with friends and family, informal advice, how-to guides, quick recipes, online journals, entertainment, etc). If so many people have access to the internet and it is required for so many personal, educational and professional tasks in life, then what exactly is the digital divide, and who is affected? Put simply, the digital divide separates those people who have access to use the internet and those who do not, and people who have the knowledge required to use the internet from those who do not. Being a part of Western civilization, we assume that everyone has the luxury of using the internet because that is all we know. In fact, there are certain communities, and even whole countries, whose governments ban certain websites--like YouTube--or don't allow people access to the education required to use computers.

What can be done about the digital divide? To address the digital divide, it would take a lot of time and money that probably isn't available. It would be nice if computers could be made available to all children at a young age and incorporated into elementary education to provide knowledge of the technology. I also think all public libraries should provide their communities with access to computers and have staff on hand for troubleshooting. It would be ideal to somehow provide educators and technology to anyone who doesn't currently have access to them. For a lot of people, even if there aren't government restrictions, they have financial restrictions that prevent them from keeping up with the technological hype of our era. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to go to school, and not everyone can afford to buy a computer. Any solutions that I can think of are strictly ideal and would need a lot of unavailable resources to implement.

I do believe the digital divide to be a civil rights issue to an extent. I would say that civil rights are rights that are guaranteed to us. I suppose it can be argued that access to technology is a right that is guaranteed as long as we have the financial means, but it can also be argued that access to food and shelter is a right that is guaranteed as well, and not all people have that luxury either. Technology has become essential to our survival in our modern world and those of us who aren't afforded the luxury of its use get left behind. This is a huge issue because it prevents people from being able to attain certain jobs, communicate with certain people, complete certain tasks, etc. My aunt, who is currently in her sixties, has recently joined facebook, and has been sending me messages asking how to do what I think are simple tasks on her computer. If we grow up with the internet and are up to date on each new piece of technology, we assume that everyone else has that same knowledge until we are told otherwise. I really had to think twice when my aunt was asking how to upload a picture on facebook, how to use online banking, and whether or not searching on google costs money. These things are like common sense to me, but are completely foreign to someone who is new to the internet. My aunt only recently was afforded the luxury of having a computer in her home, but has not been educated on how to use it. I know how well off she is and seeing her so behind in this new age of technology makes me wonder where the rest of the world really is.