Bridging The Divide

Computing technology has become so advanced; internet access has recently become very important in the world today with a large sum of people relying on the internet for daily use. However, the digital divide means that not everyone is fortunate enough to have access to the internet despite how important it may be to some people. Governments and organisations are working to help give equality to everyone to access computer technology and to try and ‘bridge the divide’.

As well as necessary equipment such as food, water and medicine, computer technology is now being seen as a ‘necessity’ something poorer countries need more of in order to help to increase education in third world countries. Certain charities and organisations are working to help provide computers and other forms of technology to poorer countries. If this is successful and it allows everyone to access a computer, it will therefore bridge the global divide between the rich and poor countries. A charity called ‘close the gap.org’, helps to provide computers to areas in need and therefore helps to ‘bridge the divide’.

Not only has there been interest in bridging the global divide, there has also been interest to help bridge the local dived as well. Microsoft is an example of one of the companies who are working towards bridging the local divide with their scheme of GetOnline@Home. Schemes such as these sell cheap computers for those who are unable to buy a normal computer which would normally cost them around £600-800 for a decent one. The scheme is also designed for charities and small businesses (who may need a large number of computers) that may need cheap computer technology more than other people do.

Across the world governments are working in their own countries to help to ‘close the gap’. An example of this would be, in India the government are working to bridge the urban- rural divide, they hope this will help to ‘bridge the local divide’. Other developing countries such as China, Brazil and Russia are also working closely on ways to close their own urban- rural divide. Ways the government are trying to achieve this is by improving broadband, selling cheaper computers and introducing more people to computer technology.

Trying to bridge the divide globally as well as locally is not an easy task to do. It has been known that some effects have been introduced to the older generation who have tried to avoid the use of computers and other forms of technology. Schemes have been created by the government which mention that they want to help older people who may not be able to afford the average decent computer. As mentioned before, there are certain outreach centres available that help to teach older people the basic things on computer usage, also available are guides who teach the elderly about how to use a computer and the internet. Outreach centres have been introduced to help people who don’t feel confident with computers or other forms of technology.

The Local Divide

As we know there is a digital divide between some countries, however there is also a local divide between the communities in those countries. Similar to the global divide, the economies of countries are also a reason for the local divide; however this time these divides are not between the rich and poor countries, they are between rich and poor individuals. An example would be the cost of a computer or laptop. Computers and the internet have become a lot more accessible in the recent years and the number of computer users is rising. Between 2000 and 2012 according to statistics there was a huge increase of 566.4% world internet users. As technology becomes more advanced and that there are so many different computers and laptops are coming out the price of them has fallen because there so common. Some technology can still be considered as being very expensive, for example, Apple products which cost anything between £1, 150, 00 to £1, 749, 00.

In today’s society, people are still using other forms of technology to access the internet, examples of which include: tablets, smartphones and laptops. These different forms of technology are becoming more popular than the average desktop computer because they’re cheaper and more convenient, you can practically take them wherever you go. Having newer, more advanced technology helps people to avoid the issue of computer costs. Regardless of this, a substantial local divide remains between the rich and poor individuals of these countries.

Another example of the local divide would be between urban- rural divide. This is a divide between people who live in richer cities to those who live in poor rural areas. An example of the urban-rural divide would be in China. As we well know, China’s economy is expanding but only cities are being affected by this growth. Rural areas of China still remain to be poorer than city areas and the urban-rural gap is begging to increase, which contributes to the local divide. The accessibility of computer technology and internet usage in China has also been affected by the urban-rural divide. Whilst the cities in China would be greatly benefitted from the latest computer and internet technology, those people who live in rural areas may not be able to access the same technology which causes there to be a unequal advantage between urban and rural areas. Not only does the urban-rural divide happen in China, it also exists in other countries such as the UK, India and France which all are another form of the local divide.

Another form of the local divide is the age divide, this is because computer technology is becoming so more advanced the older generation of people do not understand how to use it and how keep up to date with all the latest technology. Recent advice has gone out to younger people who grew up with computer technology and are renown to be more ‘computer literate’ than older people; however this may not be entirely true. Some of the elder generation may have grown up before computers and internet usage and therefore may not understand the high demand for it or perhaps they are simply trying to avoid it because they fear they don’t understand how to use it. In spite all of this, some older people do frequently use computers and the internet. In some local areas there are lessons elderly people can take at their local community centre which teaches them how to use a computer and work the internet, this may help to decrease the local divide between youths and the older generation.

The increase in computer technology used in schools is one of the reasons why younger people are sometimes considered more ‘computer literate’. Younger people have lived through the advancing technology with concern to computers, smartphones and tablets. Popular social networking sites such as ‘Facebook’, ‘Twitter’ and ‘YouTube’ form part of a young person’s daily life, it is seen to be ‘un-normal’ or ‘weird’ if you are a young person and don’t have a Facebook account which just about sums up how much young people depend on the use of computers and the internet. These websites are specially designed for young people as the makers of these well-known sites know how much young people browse the web and how they are a lot more computer literate than other people. This is seen to be another form of the local divide.

The Global Divide

The information age has had many different aspects on today’s society; it has created and introduced a divide between countries because of their economies, political beliefs and cultural preferences. From the global divide it has formed a local divide. The division of communities and nations alike is known as the digital divide. There are a number of reasons as to why the global divide has formed, some of which you will be reading about in this section of my E-book.

The global divide means that the digital revolution was so enormous and so fundamental, it meant if you were not online or didn’t have access to computers it was a huge disadvantage. The digital divide was known to be a cultural and economic ‘fundamental’ problem. The digital information revolution presents a significant opportunity for developing countries to take a big step forward. The internet was formed in the UK; it was all in the high end research level. As the internet was so limited it meant that the only countries which had good education systems and money were able to involve themselves in the digital revolution. In order to access the internet people need a personal computer (PC). Back in the days PC’s were extremely expensive and for a decent one nowadays they still are, therefore, it is common that the majority of computer owners are fairly wealthy. Urgent actions are needed at the local, national, and international levels to bridge the global digital divide.

Another reason for the global divide would be the inadequate economic statuses between all of the world’s countries. For example, HIC countries such as the US, China and Russia have more access to computer technology and internet because they have enough money to invest in technology. However, countries with less stable economies (LIC’s) wouldn’t have much access to technology as HIC’s do because they don’t have the money to do so. Today there is practically no technological limitation preventing access, even a isolated village in a faraway computer station it will lack telephones and electricity however this and the internet is processed using a satellite dish and solar power. The populations of these low income countries may only have basic internet technology compared to higher income countries who have been used to technology for many years and therefore are always up to date and able to use the latest technology available. This is how there is a digital divide between rich and poor.

Not only is the global divide caused by economic status it is also caused by the social and political beliefs of certain countries. An example of this is that certain websites may be blocked in a specific country as they are associated with different political beliefs. The population of the country is less likely to consider any other political principles if the website has been blocked. Regardless of this, other countries may believe in ‘the freedom of speech’ as there is an internet restriction in these countries (LIC’s). The level of control is an effect of social and political beliefs held by some countries across the world and characterizes another procedure of the global divide.

Cultural and geographical reasons can also be linked to the global divide through different social and political beliefs. Although a difficult term to understand, this means that the location and culture of a certain country can affect the accessibility of computing technology and the use of internet access. An example of this would be that locations of some countries mean it’s difficult to access the internet compared to other countries where internet access is not a problem and is very accessible. Some cultures of particular countries will also affect the accessibility of computing technology. For example, countries with high internet usage such as Japan or the US would have accepted the internet as part of their cultures when it was first created in 1991. This shows that the locations and cultures of countries are also responsible of the digital divide.

The BBC website has shown to publish a report how the “digital divide between rich and poor- nations is narrowing fast, according to a World Bank report”. This report explains how banks around the world want to hold a campaign to increase usage and access to technology in poorer areas. The UN also hoped that widening access to technology such as mobile phones will help decrease poverty.

The most recent news story on the BBC website which was published in 2013 explains how “The UK has moved up to the UN’s net-connectivity table, leapfrogging Honk Kong and Japan to take eight places”. The report explains how South Korea has topped the list for the third year in the row while Central African Republic has come last. This is where they warned that the relative high cost of internet access in developing countries was restricting and causing a “digital divide”.

A way to help tackle and decrease the problem of the digital divide is by funding charities such as the Americans have done with their charity organisation of ‘One laptop per child’. These people have set up an overseas charity organisation of affordable educational devices for low income countries. Laptops and computers have been sent to over 30 European countries as well as Central and South American countries, these include: Colombia, Haiti, Peru, Uruguay etc. Laptops are also sent to African countries such as; Ethiopia, Nigeria, Madagascar, Rwanda etc. Lastly the organisation has also sent technological devices to Asian countries which include: Afghanistan, Nepal, Mongolia etc. The charity organisation hopes that this will help to improve the global divide.