Digital Divide

Laurie Shteir

Digital Divide

The "Digital Divide" describes the gap between individuals and communities with greater and lesser access to technology resources and training.

“Digital Divide” refers to the gap between those able to benefit from digital technology and those who are not.

Larry Irving, Tech Advisor to President Clinton popularized the term in the 1990s

Goes beyond access and encompasses who is actually helped by technology

Related to social inclusion and opportunities

Digital Divide

What has helped with the Digital Divide Falling price of digital devices More computers in public schools and libraries Cell phones and handheld devices that connect to

the internet have helped more people to gain access the internet

Evolution of the web into a cultural crossroads - of work, play and social interaction

Digital Divide

Using new technology to provide clean drinking water available to poor people

Improving health care services for the poor. 

Thus, closing the Digital Divide is about catalyzing the digital economy so that it serves poor people whether those people have their own direct access to computers or not.

Digital Divide

(Pew Report, 2005 on Internet Usage) Income

53% of households with incomes of less than $30,000 are on-line 80% of households between $30,000-50,000 are on-line 86% of households between $50,000-75,000 are on-line 91% of households above $75,000 are on-line

Education 40% are on-line with less than a high school degree 64% are on-line with a high school degree 84% are on-line with some college work 91% are on-line with a college degree

Race 73% of White, non-Hispanic are on-line 60% of Black, non-Hispanic are on-line 70% English-Speaking Hispanics

Location 75% of urban users are on-line 73% of suburban users are on-line 60% of rural users are on-line

Digital Divide

Tendency to view digital divide as binary and simplistic

Solutions have tended to be physical and digital while ignoring other factors

Does the individual have access to a computerWhere? Work? Home? Library? Community Center?Library

Where is the library, how do they get there, what is the cost, what are the hours, how long can they use the computer

Home What programs are on the computer, can they read files downloaded, can they copy MS Office? Is that legal?

Infrastructure to support the accessInternet Access

Cost of the Internet Access?Speed of the connection? Reliability?

Digital Divide

Job Market: More and more jobs require IT skills, Career Development

Economic Equality: Access to Information and Services, Self Sufficiency

Democracy: Access government services,participate in discussion of policies thru blogs, mailing lists, deliberation forums

Digital Divide

Gradations based on different access to Information, access to communication technologies and varying tech skills

Consider these scenarios A Professor with high a high speed connection in

his office A student in Seoul occasionally using a cyber-café A rural activist in Indonesia who has no computer or

phone line but whose colleagues in her women's group download and print out information for her

Economic Divide, Usability Divide and Empowerment Divide

Digital Divide

BarriersPhysical Resources

Access to a computer and internet accessDigital Resources

Content GapHuman Resources

Literacy and trainingSocial Resources

Community Support

Global Digital Divide

Economic Divisions60% of Internet users reside in North

America (5% of the world population)Developed vs Developing Countries

Variety of software availableMapsE-Commerce/Shopping/Price ComparisonsOn-Line ResearchElectronic Government Services

Wireless Use Feb 2007 Pew Report

Some 34% of internet users have logged onto the internet using a wireless connection either around the house, at their workplace, or some place else.

Laptop, PDA, cell phone Those who have logged on wirelessly from a

place other than home or work 27% Those who have wireless networks in their

homes 19% Those with personal digital assistants that are

able to connect to the internet wirelessly 13 %

Digital Divide

Among the 34% of internet users who have gone online wirelessly:

72% of wireless users check email on the typical day compared to 63% of home broadband users and 54% of all internet users.

46% get news online on the typical day, compared to 38% of home broadband users and 31% of all internet users.

$100 Laptop OLPC (One laptop per child)

Delaware based, US non profit created by faculty from the MIT Media Lab

Design, Manufacture, Distribute a low end – low cost laptop Sold to governments and distributed thru schools 7 countries have made commitments to purchase the machines

(Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Thailand and Uruguay.)

Intended to be distributed to children around the world, especially to those in developing countries, to provide them with access to knowledge and modern forms of government

Quanta Computer, the project's contract manufacturer, said in February, 2007 that it had confirmed orders for one-million units.

The founding corporate members are Google, News Corp, AMD, Red Hat, Brightstar and Nortel, each of whom donated two million dollars to the project.

City wide wireless high speed network Wireless Philly’s ISP: EarthLink Allocation of discounted accounts to low-income

households ($9.95/month) Refurbish computers, teach workshops on internet

applications and provide technical support to new Internet users

Free “hot spot” areas in the city Proof of Concept Areas(pilot)

15 neighborhoods Wireless routers on flag poles and other tall structures

Digital Divide

It's absolutely true that people need food and shelter, but I think it is also undeniably true that information technology can, in real and immediate ways, improve people's standard of living

Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina

Digital Divide

Warschaurer, M (2002). Reconceptulaizing the Digital Divide. Retrieved March 5, 2007, from Reconceptulaizing the Digital Divide Web site: http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_7/warschauer/

Dickard, N (2002). Digital Divide: Where we are today. Retrieved March 5, 2007, from Information and Inspiration Web site: http://www.edutopia.org/php/keyword.php?id=188

Iacolare , L (January 2007). The Digital Divide: Issues And Possible Solutions. Retrieved March 5, 2007, from The Digital Divide: Issues And Possible Solutions Web site: http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2007/01/27/the_digital_divide_issues_and.htm#