Digital Divide

Digital divide generally refers to the relative advantage individuals or groups of people gain over others as the result of their access to and use of communicative technologies, such as the Internet. This gap—or divide—is considered digital largely because many technological advances over the last half of the 20th century have been based on digital, as opposed to analog, technology. While some scholars have limited use of the term digital divide specifically to Internet diffusion and access, there are many who conceptualize being digital as including a wide variety of other information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as cellular phones, satellite television receivers, and personal computers. As these technologies were initially developed, there was little concern that they might contribute to the stratification of societies ...