Digital Divide

Digital divide is a term representing the gap between populations that have easy access to communication and information technologies and those who remain underserved by these technologies. Issues related to the digital divide are salient [Page 311]worldwide because of the widely held belief that inclusion and involvement in the global information and knowledge economy is an important measure of the “quality of life” in the 21st century. Consequently, being excluded by this emerging economy is deemed a significant deprivation. The digital divide is an important concern for communication and social change theorists and practitioners. This essay highlights and describes key facets of the digital divide.

While liberals, libertarians, and conservatives are united in their determination to tackle this divide, their solutions vary in scope and substance. Empowerment, digital competency for economic development, and open access for all are just some of the objectives of digital-inclusion projects. Making provisions for digital dividends has become a priority concern for organizations such as the World Resources Institute and the World Bank. The World Bank, for instance, supported the Virtual Souk project in North Africa that has enabled rural artisans to connect to a larger, international market for their crafts.

While access to and the affordable uses of information and knowledge have increasingly become a yardstick for development as defined by the International Telecommunications Union, the United Nations Development Program, and a range of multilateral and international aid agencies, the preponderance of technologically determinist thinking and the tendency to advocate one-size-fits-all solutions have seriously affected the efficacy of the global response to the digital divide. While there is certainly a case to be made for leapfrogging technologies, such as the use of mobile telephony in contexts previously discounted by or beyond the shapings of telecommunications, it would be shortsighted to infer from such examples that a single application such as mobile telephony is the answer to the world's digital divide.

What, then, are some of the key issues related to the digital divide? First, there is, unlike in the past, a willingness to interpret the digital divide as an aspect of other divides in society. In other words, the digital divide cannot be seen in isolation from other social differences resulting from poverty, status, caste, class, and inequity; solutions must factor in this larger context of social deprivation. A second issue relates to the belief that because information and communication technologies (ICTs) can effect change in society, the deployment of ICTs must be accompanied by parallel changes in local social structures given that these structures can either support access or indeed block access to those who stand to gain from digital inclusion projects. A case in point is whether issues related to caste are factored into ICT projects in Indian villages.

There is also greater appreciation for the fact that solutions to the digital divide—whether they be e-governance projects, ICT kiosks, online marketing, or the computerization of village-level information—require more than just a technological solution. Sustainable projects require political will, capacity building at local levels, the availability of language-specific software, intentional networking strategies with a range of institutions, training in software and hardware skills, and last but not least, regular access to uninterrupted power supplies. Telecenters in South Africa, for instance, provide a range of services, from faxing to voice telephony. The more sophisticated versions of telecenters offer e-governance, e-health, e-education, and other services. Issues related to scalability remain widespread, with the result that a number of digital-divide projects continue to be pilot projects with little or no possibility for upgrading or extension.

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