Overcoming the Digital Divide Essay

Introduction

Undoubtedly, technology is one of the greatest realities and need of the today’s world. It immensely impacts the lives of people. The vast majority of individuals cannot imagine their lives without the involvement of the technology. It is the reason for connecting people with each other. Proper assimilation of the technology makes it possible for many individuals to get benefitted with the different advancements of the technology. When it comes to the effective formation of the technological developments in the world than it is crucial to identify the figurative gap which exists in the world in the form of digital divide. This particular form of division can be explained as the difference between the people who have access to the technology to those who do not have the approach of fundamental facets of technology (Norris, 2001). The separation or division of people or societies on the basis of technology appears with the main reason for the different approach towards the utilization and the accessibility of resources. The prospect of digital divide can be considered as one chronic issue of today’s world as it becomes the reason for the creating gaps on the basis of economic and social developments.

The specific term “digital divide” can be described as the one crucial form of the disparity in case of some individuals which appears with the consideration of electronic information and different means of communication mostly referring to the specific form of consumer technology. It is crucial to understand that the facet of access to the technology is mostly described in the proper form of the physical vicinity and the proper availability of the different technological resources. Implementation of the technology is not the proper response to this particular issue as it comes to the necessary consideration of equitable approach to the different features of the technology.

The facet of the division of technology immensely relies on the particular features of information and communication technology (ICT). This particular feature of today’s advanced world come up with many considerations. It is the one infused aspect of the society which appears in the different forms and dimensions with the consideration of the individual’ approach to the utilization of resources. It also depends on the particular feature of accessibility of necessary advance resources to the people relating to the specific society. In other words, it can explain that it caters all the dimensions of the society which appears in the different forms. These different facets can identify the prospect of the labor market to the administration of the different pillars of the society (Norris, 2000). The specific problem of the digital divide is appearing when not every individual of the society remain able to successfully joined the different facet of the information technology to the structuring and functioning features of the society.

It is crucial for the world to understand the intensity of the problem of the digital divide and necessary measures to effectively eliminate its consequences from the world. It is notable to mention that different researchers and activist propose different forms of solutions to overcome the problem of digital divide. The focus is to effectively align people with the changing paradigm of the information technology and its accessibility in the different facets of life. It is necessary to formulate the feature of collaboration and closeness between people by reducing the existing gap in the form of advancements in the technological features. It is the right time for the world to consider the changing paradigm of societies and take necessary measures to align people with each other with the proper approach to information technology and the advanced features of communications. Here the focus is to provide the rational arguments about the concept of digital divide with the consideration of the possible solutions of necessary access and the features of skills and education to effectively deal with the issue of the digital divide.

Background

The particular idea of the digital divide is originally come up with the specific approach to explain the existence of a difference in the accessibility of the advanced forms of the information and communication technologies. Initially, the prospect of digital divide was started to explain the feature of comparison or difference in case of geographical segregation of the communities in the broader aspects of rural and urban areas. Later on this concept developed with the consideration of the defining the prevailing differences in the societies related to the difference of prospects referring to the different paradigms of class, race, and age etc. Later, the specific concept of the division was explored by the researchers as the prospect which is closely related to the phenomenon of accessibility concerning to the other crucial features such as the features of competence and motivation. It is also crucial to apprehending the idea of a digital divide in case of different disciplines and the fields of life to properly understand the different implications closely related to the feature of access in case of information technology and communication (Macleod, 2005). The particular prospect of the digital divide is immensely applied and address in the specific fields of healthcare and biomedical sector concerning to the deployment of the different forms of information technology and the features of communication. These particular prospects are the clear indications of the specificity of the digital divide related to the different fields and sectors. It is notable to mention that the concept of the digital divide concerning to the different disciplines is immensely changing and evolving due to the different changing patterns of the societies closely linked to the overall implementation of the broader concept.
It is crucial to understand the issue of the digital divide as the social problem to propose and implement the better solutions to address this specific concern. It is becoming the reality of the different societies that internet broadband becomes the need which might appear in the forms of consideration of the business or the facet of the consumers. The advance featuring of the information technology also indicates that this particular facility or service is not available even in some rural regions of the United States of America. There is the existence of the plenty of communities on the global level which does not have the approach or access to the modern forms of information technology and the different growing techniques of communication. It is crucial to mention that access to the modern form of the technologies is missing for the rural communities due to the nonexistence of this particular modern feature or it might be costly and unaffordable. Although, governments initiate different steps in the forms of funding to help this particular prospect in the societies and the overall countries, unfortunately, these measures are not enough. There is the need of much more to do to eliminate the existing gap related to the effective access of the modern technologies and the new ways of communications. The issue of the digital divide is closely concern to the paradigms of social and economic features of any society. It is argued that the particular issue of digital divide prevails and increase due to the element of low population density (Borgida et al., 2002). This particular feature makes it economically difficult for the different companies of information technologies to successfully initiate their broadband features of networks in the particular areas characterize as the rural regions. In other words, it can explore that it is immensely difficult to maintain the necessary feature of balance in case of demand and supply concerning to the accessibility of the advancement of the information technology. Socioeconomic facets related the aspect of new ways of technology and communication indicate that it is one of the risky aspects when it comes to the development of the business model to overcome the problem of digital divide. It is crucial to consider the issue of the digital divide as the social issue which can only be addressed with the proper and effective consideration of all the stakeholders. It is evident that only federal government cannot propose solutions to this particular issue. There is the necessary alignment of the rural and urban concerns is crucial to deeply understand the feature of the difference in case of access to the different forms of information technology and the new different ways of communication. It is crucial for the countries to consider the issue of digital divide seriously and take necessary measures to address this particular concern. This societal problem can only be effectively addressed with the consideration of the access of the broadband and the different forms of technology as the priority concern. The issue of the digital divide can be resolve with the effective collaboration of different concerned entities related to this problem. Different providers of information technology and communication, groups of economic development, governments, and the citizens of the different communities can play a major role to effectively address the issue of digital divide and propose possible solutions to deal with this particular societal concern. The cooperation of all the stakeholders can be helpful to create the successful model to eliminate the gap between the individuals who have an approach to the different forms of information technology and the ones who have not the privilege to get effective assistance from the information technology and the modern ways of communication.

It is crucial to identify that the facet of digital divide or digital split is addressed differently by the different societies or the countries. Every society comes with its own considerations and attempts to propose the solution to the issue of accessibility of the information technology and the adaptability of the different ways of the communication. The socioeconomic features of the society play a vital role to understand the true need of the access of the information technology and how to attain the target of the cost-effective approach with the availability of the broadband. It is crucial to understand that the country of the United of America needs to do more and take necessary actions to make it as the greatest country when it comes to a facet of the information technology. The utilization of the advanced form of the information technology such as internet and smartphones needs to be effectively addressed to maintain the quantitative structure of the information technology. It is necessary to understand that the facet of the communication structure in the society ultimately influences the economic and developmental growth of the country. The availability of the information technology and the adaptability of the new forms of communication also influence the overall well-being of the overall population of the country. Today larger economies have to deal with the expansion of the facet of the information technology. Proper utilization and accessibility of the technology is the one crucial objective of the economies to align the different forms of urban and rural communities into the overall paradigm of country’s development.

Construction of an Argument

It is necessary to critically assess the different aspects which can be the reason for the prevailing issue of the digital divide. The particular causes of the issue can lead to the possible solutions to the issue of digital divide or digital split in case of different populations of the world. It is observed that the specific group of individuals does not have the necessary access to the different tools of information technology because they are not come up with the feature of affordability. Different paradigms of technology and the features of communication are immensely expensive in some parts of the world. It can be mostly observed in case of rural set up of the communities. African countries can be considered as the example who going through with the issue of digital divide due to inadequate resources. Another possible reason for this particular issue is that some people do not have enough knowledge to properly use the different advance forms of technology. Another crucial aspect or reason which is closely related to the element of necessary knowledge as that person of the different societies or communities have not the proper and efficient understand about the different benefits associated with the facet of growing technology in the globe. Rural communities are mostly affected with the improper form of the knowledge to use the different forms of information technology and effectively utilize different communication features to make their lives simpler and advance according to the need of the changing paradigm of the world. It is observed that most individuals belong to the under-develop or developing countries have not enough knowledge to use technology due to the lack of education and necessary skills. It is crucial to mention that only 30% population of the world is effectively aligned with the changing paradigm of technological advancement. This particular information provides the indication that almost 5 billion individuals of the world who do not have the active access to the internet or they do not have enough idea to use different technological gadgets. This particular facet expands the gap in the form of digital divide or digital split. In other words, it can be explored that there is the huge form of the world population which do not have any role in the economic growth and development. This particular type of disparity of knowledge sharing and access to the technological advancement creates the gaps between the different communities and societies in the form of its functioning.

There is one good news related to the issue of the digital divide is that there is the existence of the different initiatives which can be considered as the possible solutions. The outcomes related to these particular features can be different in case of different societies as each one come up with its own considerations. Different initiatives taken in the form of business approach to educating people about the growing demand of the technological advancement can be one significant and feasible approach to close the gap which prevails in the form of digital divide. It is crucial for the governments and the economic stakeholders of the society to effectively adopt the different features of transitions to provide assistance to the overall paradigm of the economy and align the individuals with the changing feature of technology. It is evident the issue of digital divide can be reduced or eliminated by providing the necessary form of skills and education to the individuals concerning to the changing and growing form of technology and communication (Natriello, 2001). Another aspect which is considered as the possible effective solution of the issue of the digital divide is to make it more accessible for the people to utilize different forms of technology for their benefits. The cost-effective form of technology can be helpful to eradicate the problem of digital divide.

Interpretation

The digital divide is the one vast concept which is immensely considered by many researchers to determine and analyze the different features associated with this particular issues and its consequences in the societies. Eszter Hargittai explores the one dimension of the digital divide in his research work. The main focus of the researcher is to assess the impact of the individuals’ online skills referring to the particular approach of the second-level digital divide (Hargittai, 2001). The effectiveness of this particular research can be explored as it formulates the association between the personal characteristic of the individuals which appears in the form of skills of using internet or computer to the feature of digital. The possible limitation which can be identified in case of this research is that it only considers one dimension related to the issue of the digital divide. It can further explain the inclusion of other paradigms.

Neil Selwyn considers the political features related to the digital divide to explore their connection in the form of theoretical research (Selwyn, 2004). The author provides the necessary indications about the societal examinations which are closely related to the dimension of the digital divide. The particular aim of this research work is to provide enough knowledge about the origin of the issue. The author successfully explains different conceptual stages related to the issue referring to the prospect of individuals’ engagement with the various features of information technology and different forms of communication. This particular article can be considered as a good example to explore the theoretical idea of the concept of the digital divide. Different facets of the concept of the digital divide are successfully explored by Van Dijk and hacker in their research study. The main focus of this particular research work is to provide the necessary conceptual approach to the digital divide and its influential prospect concerning to the social paradigm (Van Dijk & Hacker, 2003). It successfully provides the analytical framework which successfully addresses the feature of the digital divide on the basis of its nature and the accessibility of the technology.

Ethical outcomes

Ethics is the one crucial feature which closely related to the broader concept of the digital divide. It provides the necessary guidelines about the adaptability of the different solutions referring to the problem of digital divide or split. Concerning to the possible solution of effective accessibility in case of technology is also closely linked to the paradigm of ethics. It comes with the ethical consideration that access of the technology should be provided on the basis of ethical consideration. It is crucial to understand that there might be a possibility that it comes with the negative ethics as all the individuals have not the same level of access to the technology and the different forms of communication. A positive outcome in case of ethics can be explored with the consideration of the particular skills of access to the feature of technology. It is positively related to the aspect of education which can be the reason for the knowledge enhancement of the people to use technology effectively and efficiently.

Conclusion

To conclude the argument about the feature of the digital divide, it is crucial to overview the effects of possible solutions to this issues. These issues can be explored in the form of effective accessibility of individuals to the technological advancement and provide a necessary form of education or skills to the people. These facets can be explored with the proper involvement of all the stakeholders which can play a positive role to decrease or eliminate the gap which appears in the form of access to the features of technological advancements and different forms of communication.

References

Borgida, E., Sullivan, J. L., Oxendine, A., Jackson, M. S., Riedel, E., & Gangl, A. (2002). Civic culture meets the digital divide: The role of community electronic networks. Journal of Social Issues, 58(1), 125–141.
Hargittai, E. (2001). Second-level digital divide: Mapping differences in people’s online skills. ArXiv Preprint Cs/0109068.
Macleod, H. (2005). What role can educational multimedia play in narrowing the digital divide? International Journal of Education and Development Using ICT, 1(4).
Natriello, G. (2001). Comment: Bridging the Second Digital Divide: What Can Sociologists of Education Contribute? Sociology of Education, 74(3), 260–265.
Norris, P. (2000). The worldwide digital divide. In Paper for the Annual Meeting of the Political Studies Association of the UK, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Norris, P. (2001). Digital divide: Civic engagement, information poverty, and the Internet worldwide. Cambridge University Press.
Selwyn, N. (2004). Reconsidering political and popular understandings of the digital divide. New Media & Society, 6(3), 341–362.
Van Dijk, J., & Hacker, K. (2003). The digital divide as a complex and dynamic phenomenon. The Information Society, 19(4), 315–326.